The Defector
by jojobevco
Summary: What if Commander Adama was placed in the same position as Admiral Cain, what if a six, like Gina, had boarded Galactica and fell in love. What would happen? Adama/Six
1. Welcome Aboard

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

Chapter 1

Welcome Aboard

**Starboard Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG 75)**

**One year before the Fall of the Colonies **

Commander William Adama stood on the Hanger Deck waiting for the arrival of a shuttle carrying a new officer. An officer he really did not want to have. But, alas, the orders come through and he, as a good Colonial Officer executes them. Speaking of the orders, he stares down at them smiling at the sheer incredulity of them

**TO: Commander William Adama, Commanding Officer, Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG 75)**

**FROM: Admiral Joseph Nagala, Admiral of the Fleet, Fleet Headquarters, Picon**

**CC: The Honorable Laura Roslin, Secretary of Education, Caprica**

**RE: Orders for Decommissioning and Conversion of Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**It has been decided that the **_**Galactica**_** will be decommissioned and converted into a Museum Ship dedicated to the education of future generations about the Cylon War. **

**Although an exact date for the execution of this order has not been set by Fleet Headquarters it is assumed that it will occur sometime within the next year.**

**The following suborders are to be executed.**

**The ship is to be prepared for decommissioning at a rate which agrees with the timeframe given above**

**No actions toward decommissioning are to be executed until a timeline has been agreed to by the Museum Administrator, Commander, and Fleet Headquarters**

**Ordinance and Ammunition with the exception of ammunition for small-arms weaponry and Vipers is to be offloaded no later than one month before final decommissioning date.**

**At the time of the Decommissioning, there is to be no more than one Viper Squadron and appropriate supporting Raptor Craft on board **

**A Museum is to be designed and built using civilian personnel**

**To assist in this the Museum Administrator, Sarah Inviere, (formerly of the Department of Education) has been assigned to **_**Galactica**_** as a liason between the military and civilian forces that will be interacting over the indicated time period**

**The Commander is ordered to assist the Administrator and instruct her in the operation/function of **_**Galactica's**_** main systems.**

**The Administrator will command civilian personnel responsible for construction and development of the Museum**

**The Administrator has been assigned as **_**Galactica**_**'s Second Officer, and has been granted a temporary commission at the rank of Major to this effect.**

Bill didn't have a problem with the first part, after all _Galactica_ was an old ship, and was ready to retire.

He was only a little annoyed by the second part, after all, they could build a museum after they decommission the ship.

It was the third part that annoyed him the most. How could command assign him an officer, who is not really an officer. Furthermore, she was supposed to be his second officer. It seemed like just babysitting a VIP. He hated babysitting VIPs.

Chief Tyrol approached the commander, "Sir, Boomer is on approach with the new officer from Caprica."

"Thank you, Chief," as the chief turns to leave, he stops him, "Chief?"

"Yes, Commander."

"What do you think of these orders, from an engineering standpoint."

"Well sir, I'm happy that they're getting civilians to build the thing because my staff is so busy keeping the "Old Girl" together. However, I wish they would wait until after to do the construction."

"I agree, thanks for the input, Chief."

"Anytime, Sir."

As the Chief walked off to another section of the hangar, Bill continued to mull over his thoughts.

**Raptor 312**

**En Route to **_**Galactica**_** from the Caprica Transfer Station**

The newly minted Major Sarah Inviere sat in the ECO's seat on the Raptor flight to _Galactica_. She mulled over her assignments. Both of them.

The easier one was acting as the Museum Administrator of the _Galactica_. She was looking forward to interacting with the crew, and meeting her Commanding Officer. Sarah had read his service jacket on the flight over. He was highly decorated, had been on the way to Admiral before something happened during his time on the _Valkyrie_. He seemed like a good officer, one who would know his ship well.

She could guess how he would think about her. He would think that she is a stupid civilian mucking in military affairs. She'd have to use everything she learned in that accelerated program at war college to impress him.

It was her other mission that was giving her trouble.

Sarah knew many things about herself, She knew that she was from Gemenon, and that she had a twin sister named Gina, who was a system administrator for Integral Systems Engineering, currently upgrading ships at the Scorpion Shipyards

She also knew that all of that was false.

She knew she was a Cylon. That she had a mission, to destroy _Galactica_ at Zero Hour. She knew she was one of twelve Cylon models and that she was the sixth of them. She didn't know much beyond that, many of her memories were blocked.

So she didn't know that, her pilot, Lieutenant Sharon Valerii was a Cylon.

Honestly, Sarah didn't know what to think of Humanity. For some reason she wanted to think it was corrupted and evil. But, that didn't make any sense to her. From what she had seen, humanity was a good civilization, the majority of whom were good people. Yes, they had made a mistake, a rather big one, by enslaving Cylons. But they moved on.

Her mulling was interrupted by Boomer, who announced, "Major, we're on approach to _Galactica_."

"Good, Lieutenant, thank you."

The pilot keyed her radio to _Galactica's_ frequency, "_Galactica_ this is Boomer in Raptor three-one-two on final."

"Boomer, _Galactica_, you are cleared for approach, speed one seven five, starboard bay, hands-on-approach, checker's green, call the ball."

"Copy, I have the ball," she muted the radio for a moment and turned to Major Inviere, "You might want to hang on, I haven't exactly gotten the hang of this yet."

**Starboard Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG 75)**

After a rather stellar landing by Boomer, (as in no divots on the flight deck to be hammered out) the Raptor was pulled into Hanger deck where Commander Adama was waiting. The door opened, and after thanking Lt. Valerii for flying her here she stepped out walked over to Commander Adama and saluted smartly.

"Permission to come aboard, sir?"

This surprised Bill, apparently this woman had been studying

"Permission Granted, welcome aboard, Major."

"Thank you, sir."

Lieutenant Gaeta just arrived and walked over.

"Commander."

"Ah, Lt. Gaeta, this is Major Inviere, our new second officer. Why don't you show her around, give her the hundred cubit tour and bring her around my quarters for dinner at 2000 hours."

"Yes, sir. Major, this way please."

After the Major left on her tour, Bill decided that he liked her, not in a romantic sense of course, at least not yet. But she would prove to be a good officer.

AN: This concept came to me one night, what if Adama was placed in the same situation as Cain, how would he handle it. Obviously the paring is going to be Adama/Six

Right now, I'm just publishing this to see if there would be any interest, If there is, I might continue it, but it would be secondary to my other story.

Please review!


	2. A Tour and Dinner

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: I've updated my profile with a listing of my stories that I'm currently writing in an effort to consider the feasibility and interest generated by them. In case you didn't know, I'm writing this story "on the fly" and have brought it straight from my imagination to the written word, I have no chapters of it in reserve.

Chapter 2

A Tour and Dinner

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG 75)**

**One year before the Fall of the Colonies **

Felix Gaeta showed Sarah the highlights of the ship. She saw Sickbay, and met Major Cottle, who had to be the only doctor left in the Colonies that chain smoked, she saw the brig, which was very interesting, because there she got to meet Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, _Galactica's_ "best" pilot, who was in the brig for starting a fight in the lounge, which she saw the effects of when she got there and found maintenance still cleaning up. Sarah also saw the pilots ready rooms, quarters, bathrooms, astrometrics, the observation deck and the FTL Drive.

This brought a lot of thought to Sarah because of her Cylon mission. In her equipment she had a small cylindrical device, about a foot long and three inches in diameter. This device was designed to be installed in the Galactica's FTL Drive and cause what was officially known as an FTL Jump Error, or just simply a failure of an FTL Drive mid-jump, causing the ship to implode.

As they approached the approached her quarters Felix started talking about himself, about his study into genetics, his two years on _Galactica_ his father's ambitions for him, he stopped when they arrived at her quarters. They were rather spartan in appearance, with only a bunk, desk and locker. Her things had been offloaded off the Raptor and were there, including the cylindrical case. "Well ma'am if you need anything else, please let me know. I can be reached in the CIC."

"Thank you, Lieutenant"

"Major," Gaeta turned and left.

Sarah turned and started unpacking, not that there was much, a few duty uniforms, a dress uniform, some casual uniforms, a few sets of civilian wear. There was a picture of her and her sister, the only other Cylon she knew. Sarah's things were still in her apartment on Caprica. She finally sat in her chair and pulled out her copy of _Dark Day_, wasting away the time until dinner.

**1955 Hours**

**Commander Adama's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG 75)**

**One year before the Fall of the Colonies **

William Adama was nervous, although he would deny it if you asked him. He had sent for food from the kitchens, chicken in lemon glaze with a vegetable melody of carrots, celery and potatoes, with Apple pie for desert. He had also pulled out his best bottle of ambrosia. However, he still had no idea why he was nervous, this was, after all, just a business meeting between a commander and his new officer.

Yeah, right, Bill, he thought, you like her. Truth be told he did. She reminded him of how Carolanne was, before she started drinking. They were married for 25 years, but after the first few, they drifted apart. Bill was too focused on his career, and Carolanne drifted farther apart.

But, now might be the time to set things right.

His musings were interrupted by a knock at the door. Here we go, he thought. Adama opened the door, "Good Evening, Major."

"Good Evening, Commander, thank you for inviting me to dinner."

"Please, we're off duty, call me Bill."

"Then please call me Sarah," she smiled.

Sarah stepped in and looked around the relatively spacious quarters, compared to her's,. The painting caught her eye. After examining it she was surprised that she knew what it was. She sensed Bill behind her and noted it to him, "Battle of Tauron?"

"Very astute , most people just realize it's a Monclair. Ambrosia?" He offered her a glass of the green liquor.

"Thank you. Were you at the battle?"

"No, I was light years away on an Ice Planet in the middle of nowhere."

"Operation Raptor Talon?"

"Correct again, Sarah, I was a new Viper pilot at the time. I was chasing a couple of Raiders into the planet's surface, destroyed one, crashed into the other. I crash landed on the surface. There were a lot of hostages there, apparently, the Cylons were experimenting with them, but before I could free them, I had to leave. By the time I got in contact with my ship, which was coincidently, _Galactica_, I learned that the Armistice was signed."

They then sat down for dinner. After Bill had served them both, he asked her, "so what's your story, Sarah?"

"Not much to tell really, I grew up on Gemenon, I'm an orphan, I don't remember my parents. But, I do have a twin sister, Gina, who works as a Systems Administrator for Integral Systems Engineering."

"And how did you end up here?"

"I was a good student and got a scholarship to Caprica University, where I studied Psychology. After I graduated I worked for the Caprica City Education Department as a grief and crisis councilor. After the Adar campaign started, I left with then superintendent Roslin, and followed her to the Department of Education where I worked as her advisor. After the military came to us with the Museum Ship idea, they asked for volunteers to run the project. I've always been adventurous, and I love history, so it seemed perfect to me. After a six week accelerated course at Officer Candidate School, here I am."

Over the course of dinner Bill told his story, from the time of Tamara's death to joining the fleet, to leaving the fleet, to meeting Carolanne, rejoining the fleet and about Lee. He left out some of the more sensitive stuff of his and his family's life, like Zak, the _Valkyrie_, and Zoe Graystone.

As they moved on to dessert they talked about their common interests, such as literature. The discussion quickly turned to books that Sarah had been reading, like _Dark Day_ and _A Murder on Picon_.

They then talked about the crew, and what Sarah would be doing during her time here on Galactica.

"What I'm thinking," Adama started, "is that you'll spend the next month or so learning the basic inns and outs of every system on this ship, from the water treatment plant, to the guns, to the FTL Drive."

Ah, there it was again, Sarah thought, that frakkin' FTL drive.

Adama continued, "after which you'll study basic Battlestar operations with me, and then you'll try your hand at second officer. All while planning and constructing this museum. Any questions?"

"Not right now."

"Good, I have one request of you, One of my Viper pilots, Lt. Kara Thrace..."

"We met, she's an, um, interesting character."

Adama laughed, "That she is. Well, anyway, she's started having some major disciplinary problems over the past year or so, starting after the death of her fiancé. I was wondering if you could talk to her."

"You don't have a counselor?"

"Nope, no one. Fleet Headquarters decided that due to our status we didn't need one."

"I'll talk to her, and I suppose I'll act as ship's counselor as well."

"Excellent, thank you."

Sarah glanced at the clock and saw that it was already 2200 hours, "Well, sir, I must be going, it is getting late."

"Oh, okay. Thank you for coming, Major."

"Thank you for inviting me, Commander."

Sarah then left and went to her quarters down the hall.

Neither of them slept that night, both had given the other a lot to think about.

Please review. Thanks to those who have.


	3. Two Months

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: This chapter will cover a period of two months, shown through flashbacks

Chapter 3

Two Months

**2000 Hours**

**Major Sarah Inviere's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**10 Months before the attack on the Colonies.**

Sarah sat at her desk, going over the latest plans for the Museum. It was decided that most of the ship would be preserved in its current state. Some of the rest areas and ready rooms would be converted into classrooms, the issue of a networked computer system not yet being decided. The starboard flight pod would be closed off and turned into a museum/gift shop. Currently she was busying herself with going though old Colonial Fleet surplus lists, trying to find forty, working, Mark II Vipers. There was a staff on Caprica, and another smaller staff on _Galactica_ that could have taken care of it. However, she insisted on doing it herself, mainly in a futile effort of keeping her mind off of Commander William Adama.

She hadn't been able to forget about him since her first day very hectic day of duty onboard, and their first fight.

_**Flashback**_

_**0630 Hours**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75)**_

_**364 Days before the attack on the Colonies.**_

_Sarah was walking through yet another corridor with Senior Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol, at 6:30 in the frakkin' morning. When Bill, er the Commander, said that she would be learning about everything, she didn't think it would start, well, now._

_They finally arrived at their destination, Aft Damage Control. The Chief opened the door and stepped in with the Major, it was a tight squeeze._

_"Major, this is Aft Damage Control. It controls shipboard bulkheads, venting systems, and other major emergency systems in the event of the incapacitation of the CIC." The Chief then proceeded to point out what the important levers do, why one would pull them etc._

_ Sarah, suddenly remembered, something, from her Cylon mind. It was a common tactic to gain control of this room and shut down life support and other key systems in order to gain control of a Battlestar. She of course wouldn't mention this, or the fact that she now knew how to operate this room almost as well as the Chief. _

_Through the rest of the morning they covered the operations of airlocks, astrometrics, and auxiliary fire control. By lunchtime, Sarah, if she were human, would have been exhausted. They stopped for lunch, before the Chief left to handle his other duties._

_After lunch, Sarah decided to deal with Lt. Thrace. She went to the brig and found the Lieutenant there doing pushups. When the Major entered Kara stood at attention. Sarah entered the cell and sat at the table inside the brig, motioning Kara to do the same._

_"Lieutenant, I've recently been given additional duties on the Galactica, I am now acting as Ship's Councilor. The Commander suggested I talk with you. He says that you haven't seen anyone about your fiancé's death. I was wondering if you'd like to talk."_

_Then something surprised Sarah. Lt. Thrace just laughed, and laughed._

_"How typical of the Old Man, help everyone else and shove off his own problems," she quieted down and became serious, "My fiancé was Zak Adama, the Commander's son."_

_Again, Sarah was surprised. She decided to file that away and deal with it later._

_"Nevertheless, you need closure, I would like to meet with you twice a week, just to talk."_

_"I don't need a shrink."_

_"I think you do, and besides, it's not like you have anything else to do in here."_

_"True, fine, let's talk."_

_And so they did talk, for almost an hour before Sarah left. A few moments later, she found herself outside Commander Adama's quarters for the second time in twenty-four hours. She knocked and heard a muffled, "Enter" from inside. Sarah entered and saw the Commander behind his desk. She stood at attention._

_"At ease, Major," Sarah adjusted her position, "what can I do for you?"_

_"Sir, when meeting with a patient, I don't like it when someone hides important information from me."_

_Adama sighed, "yes, Zak was my son, I've gone to grief counseling already, Kara refused to. I didn't think it was relevant."_

_Sarah laughed, "not relevant? Commander, you might have wanted to inform me of your relation to Lieutenant Thrace's fiancé, before I was blindsided by it in my initial meeting with her."_

_"Fine, I'm sorry I didn't want to mention one of the most painful experiences of my life to a woman I just met," Adama shouted._

_Sarah sighed, this meeting was not going the way she wanted it to, "Sir, when you mentioned to me that you would like me to meet with Lieutenant Thrace, you mentioned it to me as her Commanding officer, you should have told me if you had any sort of conflict."_

_"You're right, Major, I apologize, anything else?"_

_" No, sir."_

_"Dismissed."_

_Sarah snapped to attention again, "Aye, sir."_

_End Flashback_

So, for the next two weeks Sarah was dragged through everything on Galactica, and met with Kara Thrace. After the Chief taught her everything she needed to know, and Kara was released from the brig, it was suddenly decided that she would go through Viper training. So she spent the next two weeks in a cockpit learning how to fly.

_**Flashback**_

_**1000 Hours**_

_**Viper Training Session, near Battlestar**_** Galactica **_**(BSG-75)**_

_**11 Months before the attack on the Colonies**_

_Sarah had taken to flying like a fish to water. She was easily one of the most natural flyers in history, thanks to her Cylon capabilities. Right now, she was preparing for the final part of her training, combat landings, after being instructed by the only certified flight instructor onboard, Kara Thrace._

_"The concept is simple Major, just get the bird on the ground as fast as you can, without crashing. Just lower your gear and slide along the deck until you stop." Starbuck escorted Sarah, callsign, "Blondie" to a point about ten miles off the Galactia's port landing bay. "Now, the objective is to get from here to the flight deck and land, in forty-five seconds, ready?"_

_"Yes, Lieutenant."_

_"Good then, on your mark, get set, go…"_

_…Back safely on the Hanger Deck, everyone smiled and cheered as Lieutenant Thrace pinned Pilot qualification wings to Major Inviere's uniform, after which the Lieutenant saluted the second officer before running off._

_Sarah moved through the crowd, thanking people, eventually heading off after Kara. She found her crying in an isolated corner of the ship._

_"Kara?"_

_Kara then ran over and hugged her, briefly catching Sarah by surprise. Sarah then returned the hug and moved her arms over Kara's back in a comforting motion, not saying anything, waiting for Kara to speak._

_"I shouldn't have passed him, it's my fault he's dead."_

_Ah, the only thing that could make the illustrious Kara Thrace cry, Zak._

_"Not completely, it's not only your fault, it's Zak's fault and the pilot who buzzed him, and his instructors before you."_

_"I shouldn't have passed him."_

_"That's right, you shouldn't have, but you did, and now you need to live with it. Today helps with that."_

_As Kara slid to the floor, Sarah sat there holding her, comforting her._

_End Flashback._

After the time in Viper training, Sarah started her command training with Commander Adama. She spent the past month studying tactical situations, what orders to give, when, actions to take in certain situations. To her, it was a good mental exercise. In addition, they started spending time developing the plans for the museum, including this afternoon. It was this afternoon that lead to her current thoughts about the Commander.

_**Flashback**_

_**1400 Hours**_

_**Temporary Museum Offices**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_**(BSG-75)**_

_**10 Months before the attack on the Colonies.**_

_Sarah and Bill stood over the latest layout plan for the Starboard Landing Bay, soon to be museum. _

_"If we put the squadron, here, it will allow for a flight simulator."_

_"The _Galactica_ never had a flight simulator when it was in service, why should it have one now?"_

_"It's a good activity, it gives people the opportunity to feel what a ride in a Viper Mark II was like," Sarah laughed here," or at least a toned down version, because I'm pretty sure that they would pass out from the G-Forces."_

_"Like you did the first time down the launch tube?"_

_Sarah smacked his arm lightly, "I didn't pass out, just lost some of the blood flow to my head."_

_At this point, they were shoulder to shoulder, their faces inches apart, suddenly they both leaned forward and kissed. They stayed glued together for a few seconds, when they broke apart. Bill's face was beet red._

_"I'm sorry," he said, before all but running out the door, leaving Sarah behind._

_End Flashback_

Thus, Sarah was in her quarters, trying desperately to keep her mind off that kiss, and Bill Adama. Truth be told, she loved it. It was like breathing fire into her being. But there were issues. Age wasn't one of them. She remembered having a brief relationship with a John Cavil on Caprica.

(AN: Remember, Sarah does not know what the Cylons, other than herself, look like, so she did not know that Cavil was a number one model)

But they broke it off because he was a vain, rude, bastard.

No, the issues were much more complicated. Command structure, though that didn't really matter as she thought about it. After all, her commission was not much better than an honorary one.

The Cylon issue was another matter, she was confused enough as it was, without adding another outside influence. Eventually, she decided to stop thinking about it. After all, it would just resolve itself, or it may not be an issue at all.

**2005 Hours**

**Commander William Adama's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**10 Months before the attack on the Colonies.**

William Adama was having much the same doubts as his second officer. He had to admit that over the past two months, he had grown to care about, and have romantic feelings about Sarah Inviere. His concerns though, were more about fear.

He was obviously too old for her, old enough to be her father, why would she want to spend time with someone like him. Another was the command structure, though that didn't really matter as he thought about it. After all, she would be out of the service in ten months.

Then there was Carolanne, she had ruined his perspective on marriage. The first few years had been great. The next twenty, horrible. But, he was retiring now, so it wasn't really an issue. He would be there for her.

He made his decision, stood up, straightened his shoulders and marched out the door.

**2010 Hours**

**Major Sarah Inviere's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**10 Months before the attack on the Colonies.**

There was a knock on her door. Sarah replied, "Enter."

In walked Bill Adama, Sarah stood and greeted him.

"Hello, sir."

"Hello."

There was awkward silence for a few moments. Bill was staring at the floor, he had completely lost his nerve.

"Did you need something, sir?"

"Um, yes, I wanted to apologize for what happened in the museum office today. It was unprofessional, and I apologize."

"In case you didn't notice, I kissed you too."

"You did?"

"Yes, I did, we met in the middle of the table. I can't say that it was undesirable."

"You can't?"

"No, I rather enjoyed it. I'd look forward to doing it again."

"I suppose I would look forward to it as well, would you like to have dinner again sometime."

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Um, yes, I suppose I am."

"Ok, then, I accept."

"I'll tell you when?"

"Sounds great."

"Well good night, then."

"Good night, Bill."

Sarah gently kissed him on the cheek. Bill, blushed briefly and left. Both of them were smiling that night.

Please Review, Thanks to those who have.

AN: I've managed to plan out the next few chapters of this story. There will be two more chapters showing the next ten months, and then it's the miniseries.


	4. Command on Galactica, Courtship on Capri

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: The first part of this chapter will cover the same time period covered by the Adama flashbacks in Daybreak. There was no specific time period given in the episode.

Chapter 4

Command on _Galactica_, Courtship on Caprica

**0800 Hours**

**Combat Information Center (CIC)**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**6 Months before the attack on the Colonies.**

Major SarahInviere stepped into the CIC on her second day of her temporary command of _Galactica_, with both Commander Adama and Colonel Tigh on leave on Caprica, which left Sarah in charge. So far, it had been boring, signing papers and requisitions, standing, staring at Dradis screens for longer periods of time. Hmm, maybe today she'll bring the ship to Condition One just to break up the monotony. This morning she was greeted by her CIC watch officer Lt. Gaeta.

"Good morning, Felix."

"Good morning, Major."

"What's happening today?"

"Mostly housekeeping, except for two things, first we have a new crewmember coming aboard, Petty Officer Anastasia Dualla, and secondly, the first eight of the Mark II Vipers arrived this morning."

Sarah was ecstatic, finally, something interesting, "They're here?"

"Yes ma'am, our pilots flew them in during the night from Picon."

"Do they fly?"  
"Yes, Major, they are fully functionally."

"Tell the CAG to prepare a little competition, Mark IIs versus the Mark VIs. I'll referee."

"With pleasure ma'am."

Sarah then took her station at the Dradis console and began her watch.

**1230 Hours**

**Port Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**6 Months before the attack on the Colonies.**

Major Inviere and Lieutenant Gaeta were waiting on the Hanger Deck while Boomer's Raptor was dragged in with their new CIC crewmember onboard. Sarah was wearing her flight suit because she was going out for the competition in a few minutes. After the Raptor came to a stop and the hatch opened, a young female stepped out, and saluted to the two of them.

"Petty Officer First Class Anastasia Dualla reporting for duty, sir!"

Sarah and Lt. Gaeta returned the salute and Sarah shook her hand, "Welcome aboard _Galactica_, Petty Officer, I'm Second Officer Sarah Inviere and this is CIC Watch Officer Felix Gaeta. He's going to show you around the ship and to your bunk. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a war game to referee. She then ran off, leaving Lieutenant Gaeta and Petty Officer Dualla to go on their tour.

Five minutes later, she sat in her Mark VI Viper between the two groups.

On the one side were eight Mark II Vipers, older, and less maneuverable, but still just as good in the right hands, Major Jackson "Ripper" Spencer, the CAG, Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, Lieutenant "Jolly" Anders, and the heavily tattooed pilot that Sarah forgot the name of were in these with four other pilots

On the other side were eight pilots in Mark VI Vipers.

Boomer and Helo were in a Raptor ready to provide jamming

Galactica contacted Sarah, "Blondie, Galactica"

"Blondie, copies."

"Major, the area around the ship is clear of all traffic, you're clear for maneuvering."

"Copy, Blondie out," Sarah then addressed the sixteen pilots, "okay, this is how it's going to work, each group has it's own comm frequency. For ten minutes, Boomer and Helo are going to jam your Dradis. You have ten minutes to get in position before this begins. On your mark, get set, go.

Ten minutes later the two teams were spread out around the small moon that Galactica was orbiting.

"Boomer, Blondie, turn off the jamming, let's do this."

"Copy that, jamming is off."

Suddenly, the Mark II's sprang out from around a large crater and hopped in behind the Mark VIs, and "shot" them down.

Sarah got on the mic again, "Okay, good job everyone, let's get back to the ready room and debrief." Sarah turned back toward the ship, with the rest of the squadron following.

Ten minutes later they were all inside the Pilot's Briefing Room with Majors Spencer and Inviere, who were staring at them laughing like crazy.

"Who wants to explain what happened?"

No one raised their hands, except for Starbuck.

"No one," the CAG sighed, "ok, fine, Starbuck."

"The jamming from the Raptors didn't affect the Mark IIs, their Dradis systems are too old, so the pilots could simply run around and get into position behind the Mark VIs."

"Good answer, Starbuck."

One of the pilots who was flying a Mark VI jumped up, "that's not fair."

Sarah stood up at the podium at this point, "war is not fair, and if I remember correctly you all jumped at getting the Mark VIs for this game. I made a point, newer is not better. Though we may have improved technology since the time the Mark IIs were flying, but that has only made us more vulnerable, _Galactica_ is from a time when we looked backwards to saved ourselves. Not a single ship in the fleet, except for this one has ever faced the Cylons in its current state. We don't know if today's technology will work in a war. Therefore, I want everyone in this room to get some flying time in on the Mark II, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they all responded

Sarah nodded and left to resume her duties in the CIC. She knew war was coming; she wanted them to be ready.

**1115 Hours**

**Raptor 312**

**En Route to Caprica from **_**Galactica**_

**Four months before the attack on the Colonies**

As Sarah sat in the Raptor that Boomer and Helo were piloting, she contemplated her relationship with Bill. They have been going steady for the last six months. They were perfect together; the both shared a passion for literature, history, _Galactica_. The list went on and on. They hadn't been intimate yet, for an obvious reason. Sarah was a Cylon, she already hated lying to Bill, when dating, but sex, that just felt wrong, and it would complicate things so much. She knew she would have to tell him eventually, but she hoped that was not soon.

As Bill sat in the Raptor that Boomer and Helo were piloting, he contemplated his relationship with Sarah. They have been going steady for the last six months. They were perfect together; the both shared a passion for literature, history, _Galactica_. The list went on and on. They hadn't been intimate yet, for an obvious reason. He was scared, here he was with a beautiful woman, one who loved him, but he was old, he was worried he'd disappoint her. He knew that they'd get together eventually, but he hoped that it was not soon.

The Raptor landed at the Caprica Transfer Station, and Bill and Sarah stepped out. Before Bill did though he turned to the pilots, "Lieutenants, we won't be back until late, so let's meet back here at 2200 hours."  
"Yes, sir."

After their superiors left Helo turned to Sharon and asked, "so what do you want to do?"

"I know a great bar around here."

"Great, let's go."

**1200 Hours**

**Office of the Secretary of Education**

**Lunch Meeting regarding **_**Galactica**_** Museum**

**Government District**

**Caprica**

**Four months before the attack on the Colonies**

Bill was nervous, from as much as she had heard about Laura Roslin from Sarah it was clear that this woman had, for the past five or so years, taken this girl, no, this woman under her wing and acted like a surrogate mother of sorts. So, this was as close as he would ever come to meet the parents.

They entered the rather spacious and well appointed office, where Secretary of Education Laura Roslin was sitting behind a rather large and cluttered desk talking to her assistant Billy Keikeya

"Billy, I don't give a damn about what the Sagittarons think, we are opening that Medical School on Sagittaron at the end of the month, and if those 'Sons of Liberty' even think of taking action, then I'll personally call the president and request an armed guard around the school."

"Yes, ma'am."

Billy turned and left, smiling at Sarah and nodding to Commander Adama before leaving. Laura also saw them at the door and ran up to greet them.

"Sarah, dear! How are you? How is Galactica, are they treating you alright?"

"Fine, Old and smelly, and especially great."

"My ship is _not_ 'old and smelly' it's experienced and seasoned."

"Experienced yes, seasoned, definitely not. Explain all the mildew."

"Point taken."

Secretary Roslin cleared her throat quite loudly.

"Commander Adama, nice to meet you; now, how long have you and Sarah been dating?"

Bill responded with a very uncommanderly, "huh?" While Sarah answered with a simple, "six months."

"H-how did you know?"

"This woman has been my right-hand for the past five years, Commander. She only bickers like that with her girl-friends or someone she's dating."

Bill looked like he had just swallowed something particularly vile, "oh, er, um."

"Relax Commander, I care about Sarah, but I'm not her mother, she can make her own decisions. However, if you hurt her they will never find the body. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Laura clapped her hands together, "good, now that all the unpleasantness is out of the way, we have work to do."

They then proceeded to have a very pleasant and amicable lunch meeting where most plans were approved and agreed upon, with the exception of the computer networking.

**0100 Hours**

**Raptor 312**

**Arriving at **_**Galactica**_

**Three months and thirty days before the attack on the Colonies**

Sarah and Bill were almost at _Galactica_, on schedule despite the fact that their two pilots were still sleeping in the back. Apparently the two of them had gone to a bar near their landing point and managed to get so drunk that they couldn't walk, much less fly. Bill would have normally been furious, except for the fact that it was so damn funny. So, Bill and Sarah were flying the Raptor back to Galactica

Bill keyed the radio to _Galactica's_ frequency, "_Galactica_ this is Husker in Raptor three-one-two on final."

There was a long pause, where Sarah and Bill laughed at the antics of Saul Tigh undoubtedly occurring in the CIC.  
"Raptor 312, _Galactica_, verify callsign."

"_Galactica, _Raptor 312, we verify Husker piloting and Blondie in second chair. Now can we land or not?"

"Husker, _Galactica_, you are cleared for approach, speed one seven five, port bay, hands-on-approach, checker's green, call the ball."

"Copy, I have the ball," he muted the radio for a moment and turned to Major Inviere, "You might want to hang on, I haven't exactly done this in a while."

"Sharon said almost the exact same thing a few months ago."

"She always gives that warning about not giving the hang of it, even though she hasn't had a bad landing in five months."

"True."

Please Review, Thanks to those who have.

AN: Next chapter, all will be revealed (okay, not all, but Sarah will reveal her nature)


	5. Revelation

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

Chapter 5

Revelation

**1030 Hours**

_**Galactica**_** Museum Gift Shop (under construction)**

**Starboard Launch Bay**

**Battlestar Galactica (BSG-75)**

**One month before the attack on the Colonies**

Construction on the Galactica Museum was progressing well, which pleased Sarah, and annoyed Bill to no end. Sarah was happy because the faster this ship was decommissioned, the faster she could stop worrying about the end of the world and her part in it. Bill was annoyed because he was supposed to be commanding a Battlestar, not a damn museum, but he was happy for Sarah's sake.

Their relationship had just kept getting better and better. They were now very comfortable with each other, and had discussed their issues with getting intimate, to an extent. Bill had told Sarah how he felt about his age, and her. She had quickly dissuaded him of any feelings of inadequacy. Sarah, had told him that she felt like sex would only complicate things, something that Bill agreed with. However, they seemed to be spending all their time together.

The crew and officers had noticed this relationship by now, just as they knew about the Chief and Boomer. Although the fact that Sarah and Bill weren't exactly hiding it, might have helped. While on duty they acted with the discretion and professionalism required, no more than close friends. Off duty however, they could be seen together working late into the night, cuddling in the observation lounge, or jogging through the ship.

Today, they were inspecting the construction on the gift shop, formerly the starboard launch bay, which was in its final stages of construction. Outside, a construction tender floated along carrying in new supplies to Galactica Sarah and Bill walked along the deck checking with the construction foreman, who commented here and there. Bill and Sarah had stepped into one of the launch tubes when there was a loud explosion. The launch tube doors suddenly closed behind Bill and Sarah.

"Bill, what's going on?"

"I don't know, let me find out." He picked up the phone in the launch tube and dialed the launch supervisor office looking over the tube. Chief Tyrol ran in and answered.

"Commander, I'm sorry about this."

"What's happening, Chief?"

"One of the external fuel tanks on the tender slipped and crashed into the side of _Galactica_. It triggered an automatic lockdown. We have to reset the whole system. It'll take a while."

"Ok, Chief, get to work."

"Yes, sir." The chief promptly left to flick whatever switches had to be flicked to fix the situation.

Sarah groaned and sat down on the floor of the launch tube and leaned against the office wall. Bill sat next to her. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Bill said, "Sarah, we need to talk."

This concerned Sarah quite a bit, but she managed to remain calm and respond, "Okay, what do we need to talk about?"

Bill took a deep breath before he started, "Sarah, we've known each other for almost a year now; I've grown to deeply care about you. We've grown together; we're so alike that I think we've been finishing each other's sentences. We have the same interests and passion. We complete each other," Bill realized he was rambling and just cut to the chase, "Sarah Inviere, you are the love of my life will you marry me?"

Bill pulled out a box from inside his tunic pocket and opened it. Inside was a rather nice ring.

Sarah was shocked, "Oh Bill," was all she could get out before she started crying.

"Sarah, what's wrong, I'm sorry if I brought this up too soon, or if I read the signs wrong, or—"

"Bill, it's not you, it's me, trust me, you do not want to marry me."

"Of course I want to marry you!"

"Bill, I haven't been completely honest with you, about me, about who I am."

Bill was confused, "What do you mean?"

"Bill," she sighed and took a deep breath here, "I'm a Cylon."

This left Bill completely baffled, "Huh?"

"I don't know exactly how it came about as a result of the experiments you observed or something else. What I do know is that there are Twelve Cylon Models that look and feel Human, and that I am the sixth of those models. I am a synthetic woman, I am not flesh and blood. Well, I am, it's just synthetically created."

"So, let me get this straight, you are a Cylon that looks and feels human? Forgive me for not believing you, but the last time I saw a Cylon it looked more like a chrome toaster."

"I'm sorry, Bill, I can't help you there, my knowledge on Cylons is limited."

"And yet, you claim to be one?" By this time Bill was up and pacing the launch tube.

"I know it, in my very being, but my memories, knowledge, it's all fuzzy, like it's locked up. I only know a few things."

"Like what?"

"That I'm a Cylon, that the Cylons have a plan to destroy humanity, and that I have a mission as part of that plan."

By this point Bill was in shock, "What?"

"My mission is to install an FTL Jump Inverter into the FTL Drive on _Galactica_ and cause a Jump Error that will destroy the ship."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"I'm telling you why you don't want to marry me."

"What about us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Were we just a part of the mission, a part of your programming?"

"Bill, I tried, as much as possible, to not lie to you, I'm obviously not from Gemenon, I do, however, have a sister. Except that she's probably a Cylon just like me. I don't have any parents, so that makes me an orphan. But, I did go to Caprica University, get a degree in psychology, work for the department of education, that's all true. My feelings for you are real, I love you Bill, and that's why I can't marry you."

"So what do you plan to do?"

"I'm confused, I don't want to do these things. I want to just live my life in peace. I don't know if I can. I mean, I know I'm a Cylon, but I that's it. I'm more human than Cylon." She started crying again, "Bill I don't want to do these things, I want to stop this, please, help me."

He took Sarah's head into his lap and started gently stroking her hair.

"We'll warn them, we'll take care of this, we'll get the senior staff in on it, we'll take every precaution, we'll be ready."

"What about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I suppose you should hand me over to the authorities, Colonial Fleet Intelligence, will probably want to get their hands on me, find out what I know, which is really not more than what I just told you. They won't believe that, so they'll probably try to torture something out of me. Not that I really mind of course. I probably deserve it for trying to exterminate the entire human race!"

"Oh, Sarah," he pulled her up and looked into her eyes, "you are a good person and for that, I still love you. I know this is hard, but we'll get through it, together. So, Sarah Inviere, will you marry me?"

Sarah laughed at this, "Bill did you not hear a single word I just said, I'm a Cylon, a machine, a toaster. Why do you want to marry me?"

"Because you are still you, you are still the woman I love."

"Oh, Bill, I truly don't deserve you, but I will do everything in my power to try to."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

Bill slipped the ring on her finger. He was still confused, maybe a little angry, a little betrayed, but he still cared for her, a lot, quite a lot, enough to marry her.

"This is a nice ring."

"It was my mother's. I still remember the day Carolanne threw that in my face."

"She was stupid to give you up."

"I was not a good husband."

"Well, you're the one for me."

They started kissing, and kept making out for a few minutes, until the loud sound of the door opening broke them apart. Chief Tyrol stepped in. The sight that greeted him was…interesting. The Commander and Major had both jumped up to greet him, however their clothing was disheveled. He saw that the Major had been crying.

"Is everything okay in here?"

Sarah smiled, "Everything's great, Chief. In fact, everything is better than great, The Commander just asked me to marry him, and I accepted!"

That day, three people left the launch tube smiling. Two of them, were not happy, they had a lot of work to do. Unbeknownst to them, their window was closing fast.

AN: Well, that's the revelation. I know Adama's reaction wasn't the sort of off the wall, throw you out an airlock type he later developed. However, I think it's a combination of shock and disbelief that toned down his reaction. Next chapter will cover the (unsuccessful) attempts of Bill and Sarah to stop the Cylon Attack. Afterward will be the Miniseries.

Please Review, Thanks to those who have.


	6. The System was Blinking Red

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: This chapter will cover the month before the attacks, shown through flashbacks

Chapter 6

"The System was Blinking Red"

**2400 Hours**

**Major Sarah Inviere's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**The night before the attack on the Colonies.**

Sarah Inviere was trying to sleep, quite unsuccessfully. This last month had been the most hectic and stressful of her life. For two reasons, one, she's been trying to save the Colonies from a Cylon invasion. The other was that she was getting married tomorrow. She remembered where all this stress started, the day after she told Bill the truth about her.

_**Flashback**_

_**1000 Hours**_

_**Wardroom**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_**(BSG-75)**_

_**30 Days before the attack on the Colonies.**_

_"Okay, so let me see if I've straight," Starbuck summarized, "You," she pointed at Sarah, "are a Cylon?"_

_"Correct, Starbuck."_

_"What is this, a frakkin' joke?"_

_"Nope, I am a Cylon, the Cylons are coming, they will attack the Colonies, and they will win unless we stop them."_

_"Sound awfully confident for someone who's claiming to be a defector," Saul Tigh added his two cents._

_"It's not bravado, it's the truth, they are methodical, they have a plan, I don't know what it is but they have it. The think they will win, chances are they will."_

_"So what are we going to do," Chief Tyrol asked._

_"That, Chief, is what we're here to figure out."_

_"Well we have to warn someone," Lt. Valerii added in._

_"Yes," Bill responded, "but we have to figure out how to convince them without endangering the Major."_

_"What do you mean, Bill," Tigh asked._

_"Remember the last time we blindly trusted Colonial Fleet Intelligence."_

_"Oh, right."_

_"Well, we do have the FTL Jump Inverter," Lt. Gaeta suggested._

_"That is only proof of a conspiracy against Galactica, I mean any terrorist worth his salt can make one," the Chief reputed._

_"Besides, it would not affect all the ships immediately, only if they used an FTL drive."_

_"Well then, the solution is simple, tell everyone to not use an FTL drive," Starbuck stated._

_"That would frack fleet combat effectiveness," Bill countered._

_"Well then we send out a warning about FTL Drive tampering."_

_"Agreed, however, we will leave the Major's name out of it. We will say that the Chief discovered it during a routine inspection, there will be an investigation, however is there any way of telling how long it's been there?"  
"No sir, I examined the device you provided me, it's a standard FTL jump inverter, the same design that's been used for years. With the way those thinks work it could have been in the engine for the past twenty years."_

_"That'll work for us, then."_

_"Okay, so we tell them that our FTL was sabotaged, they won't connect that with the possibility of a Cylon attack. Ugh, this is so complicated.."_

_"What else will the Cylons use? I mean the idea of trusting ships to jump around will not help, after a few Battlestars blow up, everyone will realize what's going on."_

_While they were debating, Sarah was pacing back and forth in the wardroom. She was missing something, she had to be. Suddenly a thought drifted into her head, from a conversation about eleven months ago._

"But, I do have a twin sister, Gina, who works as a Systems Administrator for Integral Systems Engineering."

_Sarah turned back to the group. "Mr. Gaeta, what does Integral Systems Engineering do?"_

_"They're a private company responsible for upgrading the Defense Ministry Mainframe and increasing computer effectiveness with the Command Navigation Program. My Gods, that's how they're going to do it."_

_The technophobic Saul Tigh was confused, "Do what, Lieutenant?"_

_"The CNP connects every system on a Battlestar to the Defense Mainframe on Caprica, furthermore it networks every system on a Battlestar closer than ever before. If they build in a virus, or backdoor of sorts, they can disable a ship with the flick of a switch."_

_"Of course," Bill slapped his forehead, "The Cylons have always been big on computer attacks. The Jump Inverter must have been a backup for Galactica. Mr. Gaeta, is the CNP installed in Galactica's systems?"_

_"No, sir, just the Mark VI Vipers."_

_"Then this is what we are going to do, we'll send an anonymous tip to the Defense Ministry, telling them about sabotage in the CNP. Then we'll transfer the Mark VIs off early. It would make more sense to use the Mark IIs for the Decommissioning Ceremony. Gods know the only reason we've been keeping them around was because I insisted, and the Flight Academy has been begging to get Ripper back. Starbuck, you'll be named CAG, keep the pilots that did the best in the Mark IIs around, send the rest back home."_

_"Um, sir, if we are right about this, and I think we are, then wouldn't we be sending them to their deaths."_

_"No, we will warn them to not trust their CNP programs and to not engage Cylons. What they make of it is their responsibility."_

_"Dismissed, and I remind everyone that this briefing is strictly classified."_

_End Flashback_

Sarah remembered the next day when the communiqué was sent out. She personally sent it out, although it was sent anonymously she marked it in the ships log, on Bill's advice. He wanted a record of them trying to stop it. A very curt memo was sent back to _Galactica_ stating that, it is "impossible for the Command Navigation Program to be compromised and to believe otherwise is ludicrous." Not a single one of the aptly named Whistleblower Commission believed them.  
Those involved that had families attempted to contact them. Felix sent a letter to his parents suggesting they take a trip up to their cabin in the wilderness and go hunting (his parents were vegetarians, so they knew something was wrong.) Saul Tigh unsuccessfully tried to contact his wife Ellen (unbeknownst to him she was boxed at the resurrection hub at the time.) Everyone else was orphans without family to contact, or want to contact in Sarah's case. This left Bill.

_**Flashback**_

_**1500 Hours**_

_**Commander William Adama's Quarters**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_**(BSG-75)**_

_**25 Days before the attack on the Colonies.**_

_Bill was patched into the Caprica phone system talking to his estranged son, Leland._

_"Lee, you have to believe me!"_

_"No, Dad, I don't, you are having delusions of grandeur and paranoia, it sounds like this woman is conning you into believing that the world is ending."_

_"Don't bring Sarah into this; you just don't like her because I'm marrying her."_

_"Okay, that might have something to do with this, but still, I don't believe you. You seriously think that you would know this when Colonial Fleet Intelligence doesn't?"_

_"Intelligence has been wrong before."_

_"Dad the answer is no, I'll see you at the ceremony."_

_"Lee, please, at least move Gianne to the Cabin."_

_"The answer is no, Dad, I'm not uprooting her on your say so. Good bye, _Commander_!" The phone turned off with an audible click, Bill threw it as far as it would go, before it came back and hit him in the chest._

_End Flashback._

After that, the group rapidly gave up trying to convince people and instead focused on preparing Galactica. In the twenty-five days they had left, every spare moment was spent on combat drills, damage control practice, putting Vipers in the air to practice not only maneuvering for the decommissioning ceremony, but also simulating combat with the Mark IIs. They also started practicing FTL jump prep to munitions dumps

Sarah was thankful that this will all soon be over. Tomorrow, she would get married in a basic ceremony, then the ship would be decommissioned, and then she could spend the foreseeable future living on an old vessel that no longer in active service, with her loving husband and forget this Cylon mess. She just had to make it through tomorrow.

AN: Please Review, thanks to those who have

Can anyone identify the origin of the title of this chapter?

The next chapter will cover the events of the miniseries, as well as a wedding. Sarah will also tell _everyone_, meaning about 50,000 people, about her true nature.


	7. A Wedding, a Funeral and Everything in B

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

Chapter 7

A Wedding, a Funeral and Everything in Between

**0700 Hours**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**The Morning of the attack on the Colonies, **_**Galactica's**_** Decommissioning Ceremony, and the Adama-Inviere Wedding**

Commander William Adama walked the familiar path from his quarters to the CIC for the last morning, practicing the two most important speeches of his life.

"Because of you, Sarah, I laugh, I smile, I dare to dream again."

He looks over to the other speech, "The Cylon War is long over, yet we must not…"

Kara jogs up to him in the hallway.

"Morning, sir."

"Morning, Starbuck, mind if I ask why you're not dressed yet?"

"I wanted to get in my run first."

"The wedding starts in 90 minutes, Kara, you're the maid of honor so if your late, Sara will chew you up and spit you out the closest airlock."

"Yes, sir."

"Get dressed, Starbuck."

"Aye, aye, sir." She mocks a salute and runs off.

Adama enters the CIC and is greeted by Lt. Gaeta, with the daily stack of messages."

"Morning, sir! Comm traffic off the midwatch."

"Morning, Mr. Gaeta, anything interesting?"

"Mostly housekeeping, except for one that I thought was rather odd, Courier officer is overdue from the Armistice Station. They want a report on any FTL capable ships, in case someone has to go out there to get him."

"We're a bit busy today, Felix."

"Yes, sir, we are."

"Go get dressed lieutenant, the wedding's in 88 minutes."

"Yes, sir," he salutes and runs off.

**0705 Hours**

**Major Sarah Inviere's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**The Morning of the attack on the Colonies, **_**Galactica's**_** Decommissioning Ceremony, and the Adama-Inviere Wedding**

Sarah's "extra spacious" quarters had been taken over by a bridal party.

"Are you sure I look okay, Sharon?"

"Major, it's a dress uniform, there are only so many ways to wear one."

Starbuck runs in, "sorry I'm late, sir."

"Forget it Starbuck, grab a shower in my head and get dressed."

"Yes, sir."

Sarah started reviewing her wedding vows, "Bill, you have filled my world with meaning…"

The phone rang.

"Major Inviere."

"Major, the Secretary's ship just arrived."

"Thank you, Dee, I'll meet them when they land, now get down here and get dressed," she hung up and turned back to the note-card, "so much for practice."

**0715 Hours**

_**Colonial 715's**_** Airlock**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**The Morning of the attack on the Colonies, **_**Galactica's**_** Decommissioning Ceremony, and the Adama-Inviere Wedding**

Sarah arrived at the airlock just as it opened, revealing Laura Roslin and Elosha, a priest.

"Laura," she ran and hugged the shorter woman.

"Sarah, oh it's good to see you!" Laura turned and introduced Elosha. "You remember Elosha?"

"Yes, we spoke on the phone a few weeks ago; thank you for doing this on such short notice. We've been a bit under the gun."

They both look down at her rather trim stomach.

"No! No, I'm not pregnant; we just wanted to get it done before the _Galactica_ was decommissioned. I'll show you to the wardroom."

"Isn't it a bit small for a wedding?"

"It's a busy day; most of the crew can't make it. It's mostly going to be the wedding party and a few witnesses.

**0830 Hours**

**The Adama-Inviere Wedding**

**The Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75) **

**The Morning of the attack on the Colonies and **_**Galactica's**_** Decommissioning Ceremony**

Although the wedding was small in number, and simple; it was no less elegant. The wedding party and guest list consisted of a few, important, people.

The Bride and Groom: Major Sarah Inviere and Commander William Adama

Celebrant: Elosha

Parent-of-the-Bride (stand in): Secretary of Education Laura Roslin

The Maid of Honor: Lieutenant Kara Thrace

The Bridesmaids: Lieutenant Sharon Valerii, and Petty Officer First Class Anastasia Dualla

Best Man: Colonel Saul Tigh

Groomsmen: Lieutenant Felix Gaeta, and Chief Petty Officer Galen Tyrol

Guests: Major Sherman Cottle, Captain Leland Adama, and Mr. Billy Keikeya

The wedding started with a tearful Laura walking Sarah, in her dress uniform, down the Aisle, where the rest of the party was waiting. Then she took a seat next to Billy. Elsosha started

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today under the Lords of Kobol to celebrate the wedding of William and Sarah, two lovers who found themselves under the most unlikely of circumstances. They each have written their own vows, which they will recite before the gods and those gathered here today. Sarah will start first."

"Bill, you have filled by empty life with meaning. You have made me a happy and complete person. Thank you for taking me as I am; loving me, and welcoming me into your heart. I promise to always love , respect, honor, cherish and to be faithful and obedient to you forever. Today I choose you to be my husband, and commit myself to you for the rest of my life."

"Thank you Sarah, for those touching and poignant words, now, Bill?"

"Sarah, because of you, I dare to laugh, smile, and look forward in life again. I look forward with great joy to spending the rest of my life with you, caring for you, nurturing you, being there for you in all life has for us, and I vow to be true and faithful for as long as we both shall live."

"Thank you Bill. Now the rings, please." Kara and Saul handed the rings to Sarah and Bill respectively glared at each other and went back to their respective corners, "now Sarah, repeat after me. With his ring…"

"With this ring…"

"I be wed…"

"I be wed…"

"And now you Bill. With this ring…"

"With this ring…"

"I be wed…"

"I be wed…"

"Under the power vested in me by the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

The kissed and the room clapped. Bill turned to them, "thank you for coming. Now, we have to get ready for the ceremony, dismissed."

After everyone congratulated the bride and groom they quickly left to handle the things for the afternoon.

Sarah was happy, but something felt off, it felt elusive. Her thoughts were interrupted by Bill.

"Sarah?"

"Hm?"

"Are you okay, I've been trying to get your attention for a while."

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

"Good, because we need to get ready."

"Oh, do we, I would think that we need to do something else first, something involving you, me and the wardroom table." She started nibbling on his ear. Bill gently pushed her away, chuckling and blushing.

"Sarah! As much as I would like to, we have a lot of things to do. Today, after the ceremony, I promise."

Sarah pouted, and turned to the CIC, "Fine, be that way, Mr. Adama."

"You also, Mrs. Adama."

"It's Inviere-Adama, Bill, after all, when the crew starts cursing you, I don't want to be involved."

He chuckles, "Good, now, I have to deal with my son."

Bill finds Lee in a nearby corridor.

"Lee!"

Lee turns around and sees him, "Commander."

"How are you?"

"Fine, I just saw my father get married to someone younger to be his daughter, who is slowly driving him insane. How about you?"

"Hey, don't pull this crap with me, Lee, I know your mother is getting married. If she can move on, then so can I. And she is not driving me insane."

"She is leading you to think she's a Cylon."

"At least tell me you moved your family to safety."

"No, I didn't, because I won't let my life be ruled by you!"

"I tried to warn you Lee."

"I have to suit up, by your leave, Commander."

Lee spun on his heel and left.

**1400 Hours**

**Directly before the attack on the Colonies. **

Kara Thrace sat in the brig, after punching out Saul Tigh again.

Boomer and Helo were piloting their raptor back to Caprica, for reassignment, this time, with out a squadron following them, however, they were being shadowed by two Cylons.

Saul Tigh was getting drunk.

Gina Inviere was doing work onboard _Pegasus_.

Galen Tyrol was refueling Mark II Vipers after the ceremony.

Laura Roslin was contemplating her cancer.

Billy Keikeya and Anastasia Dualla were contemplating each other.

Lee Adama was fuming at his father.

Gianne, the future wife of Lee Adama was walking along the Riverwalk, smiling at her belly.

And Bill and Sarah Adama were now resting in their marriage bed after a very, ah, _busy,_ day.

Then the Cylons showed up with a wedding present, and it wasn't a china set.

**1435 Hours**

**Commander's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**35 minutes after the Attack on the Colonies.**

Commander Adama's phone started buzzing, he sighed, pulled himself out of bed while Major Inviere-Adama stirred before going back to bed. He answered, "this better be good."

Gaeta winced, even though what he had was the most important message he ever gave the Commander in three years, "Sorry to disturb you, Sir, but we picked up just picked up a message from Fleet Headquarters, it…It was transmitted in the clear, sir."

Adama wanted to shout, _oh frack,_ instead what came out was, "In the clear? What does it say?"

"Attention all Colonial Units: Cylon attack underway, this is not a drill."

"Oh, frack."

"Indeed, sir. Shall I go to condition one?"

"Yeah, the Major and I will be on the CIC in a few minutes, I really wish I had held off on blowing up that ordnance now. Get the XO started on the latest plot to Ragnar."

"Aye, sir."

Bill hung up the phone and walked back to Sarah he shook her awake.

"Huh, what is it?"

"It's happening."

Sarah was now fully awake, "what is?"

"The Cylons are attacking."

"Oh, Frack."

"My thoughts exactly, let's go."

After getting dressed, they raced to the CIC, halfway there the klaxons started.

"Action stations, action stations, set condition one throughout the ship, this is not a drill. Repeat: Action stations, action stations, set condition one throughout the ship."

The Commander and Second Officer of the newly recomissioned Galactica started running. They reached the CIC moments before the XO who suddenly shouted what was on everyone's mind.

"Oh, frack!"

"That's the statement of the day, Mr. Gaeta, sitrep please?"

"All stations answering action stations sir,"

"Good, Colonel."

"Sir!"

"Get started on a plot to Ragnar."

"Yes sir," he went off barking orders and grabbing charts from under the command table.

"Tactical, get a plot of the solar system."

"Yes, sir."

Sarah quietly went over to Dee, "Dee, send the following message in the clear to Colonial Fleet Intelligence. Message reads: We told you so, Commander Adama and Major Inviere-Adama. Message ends."

"Yes ma'am, in the clear?"

"It doesn't matter if Colonial Intelligence actually gets the message, but I want everyone else to."

Dee smirked, "Yes ma'am, by the way, how was it?"

"Fantastic, Dee, fantastic."

Meanwhile, Commander Adama had just finished addressing the ship.

"And will someone _please_ get Starbuck out of the brig already!"

An hour later, things were going very well, considering. They were almost ready to jump to Ragnar, a formal CAP had been set up and things were proceeding smoothly, at least much more smoothly than on other ships. Petty Officer Dualla was making a presentation to the Adamas and Lieutenant Gaeta about a series of equipment failures.

"The important thing is the number of failures, sirs, we have Battlestars losing all power like someone flicked a switch."

The three officers turned to each other and said at the same time, "The CNP Program!"

Commander Adama turned to Lieutenant Gaeta, "Mr. Gaeta, make sure that we have erased all copies of the CNP from our hard drives, and that the ones on the remaining Raptors are taken care of as well."

"Aye, sir." He left.

Sarah turned to Dee and asked her a question that had been nagging her, "Dee, were there any reports of FTL Jump Errors."

"No ma'am not one."

"Well frack me," she turned to Dualla, "thank you Petty Officer, return to your duties."

"Sirs." She saluted and left.

Sarah turned to Bill with a quizzical expression on her face, "what do you think?"

"I honestly don't know."

Sarah then turned and looked at the CIC console. Bill noticed this and looked at it also.

"What, what is it?"

"There is something off about that console." Suddenly it clicked. "Bill, come with me." She ran off not waiting for him to follow.

"Captain Kelly, you have the watch."

"Aye, sir."

He then ran off after Sarah, eventually following her to her quarters.

"Sarah what is…"

"Shh."

She pulls out the FTL Jump Inverter and pulls something off the end.

"Look familiar?"

Bill looks at it.

"Isn't this the same as the thing underneath the _Galactica's_ Dradis display?"

"Yep, and I still have mine, so that means that…"

"There's another Cylon onboard."

"Correct."

"What are we going to do?"

"Wait for the time being until they make themselves known. In the meantime have some members of the whistleblower committee remove the other one and deactivate it."

The phone rang. Bill answered it.

"Adama."

"Bill you better get up here."

"Why, what is it?"

"Um, an urgent message came in. We lost at Picon."

"Right I'm on my way there, Isolate the Dradis console and remove the device below it that's not supposed to be there. Use extreme caution."

"Aye."

Bill hung up and turned to Sarah, "We lost at Picon."

They ran to the CIC for the second time that day.

When they got there Bill promptly took command of the Fleet and ordered surviving ships to Ragnar. Of course then he got a call from his mother-in-law.

"Sir, there's an incoming message from the President of the Colonies. They're requesting our assistance at their current position with rescue operations."

"She's what? Are they in verbal communication range?"

"Yes, sir."

"Get them on the horn now, Dee."

"Yes, sir."

"_Colonial 715_ this is _Galactica_, over."

"_Colonial One_, copies."

"_Colonial One_, Galactica Actual would like to speak with the President."

"Put him on."

Bill picked up the phone. "Hello, Lee."

"Commander,"

Bill was about to wait for some sort of admission that he was right from his son, but then didn't bother to.

"Did you get my message?"

"Yes."

"Is your ship's FTL drive working?"

"Yes.'

"Then I am ordering you to jump immediately to Ragnar."

"Acknowledge…receipt of message."

"Receipt of Message? What does that mean?"

"It means I heard you."

"Lee, your taking orders from a school teacher. Ouch, that hurt Sarah,"

Sarah had just head slapped him.

"New wife doesn't like you putting down her friend does she, Dad?"

"Nope."

Lieutenant Gaeta shouted, "New Dradis Contact. Enemy fighters inbound toward the civilian ships."

"Lee! You have enemy fighters inbound, get out of there! Lee! Lee!"

The Dradis screen fizzled.

"Detonation in the fifty-kiloton range."

Bill and Sarah felt like they had the wind knocked out of them. The only family they had left was dead. They went over and sat in the corner of the CIC. Saul took one look at them and sighed, "Continue Jump Prep."

A while later, a survey team from Galactica, accompanied by Commander Adama entered the space station, encountering a strange man, Leoben Conoy, an "arms merchant." Unfortunately he and Adama got trapped from an explosion and had to find another way around the station.

Meanwhile, Sarah was walking the ship in an effort to keep the death of Laura Roslin off her mind. She sighed and turned another corridor, suddenly running into Laura Roslin, Lee Adama, Billy Keikeya, Gaius Baltar (who was looking at her like she had two heads) and Aaron Doral (that stupid public relations guy, who looked really angry for some reason).

"Oh, great, now I'm hallucinating."

"You're not hallucinating Sarah, it's me."

"But how, the nuke-"

"Was a fake, sir," interjected Lee Adama, "I used _Galactica's_ pulse generators to simulate a successful nuclear attack."

"You mean that trick actually worked?"

"Yep," Lee was quite proud of himself."

"Well someone's going to have to reprogram the simulators."

"It won't work again ma'am, the Cylons returned and nuked everyone without a FTL Drive."

"Damn."

"Where's Commander Adama?" Laura asked.

"On Ragnar supervising the supply loading. You can see Commander Tigh in the wardroom."

"Yes, thank you, Sar- I mean, Major Adama."

"Inviere-Adama, especially considering the fact that we now have three Adamas on this ship."

Everyone nodded and went toward the CIC/Wardroom, while Sarah continued her walk. She hadn't gone five steps before she was slammed into a wall. By Aaron Doral.

"What the frack are you doing? This ship should have been destroyed hours ago! Why is it still around? I knew you Sixes were so incompetent, you can never do anything right, except frack people, but then you screw that up by becoming attached to them."

Suddenly it clicked in Sarah's head; this man was a Cylon, A Number Five specifically.

She threw him off her, kicked him into the other side of the corridor, threw him on the ground, held down his left arm, and dragged his right across his back at a rather uncomfortable angle. The commotion brought several people running, including a few marines. Sarah turned her head to them, "Arrest this man, charge him with willful collaboration with the enemy."

"Yes, ma'am." The marines take him down to the brig.

Doral became nervous at this protesting his innocence and shouting at the top of his lungs, "She's a Cylon, she's a Cylon!"

"So are you," she muttered. No one heard her.

Meanwhile, Saul Tigh was dealing with another problem. Gaius Baltar.

"So, what?"

"So, what? I tell you that the Cylons have achieved human form, that one of them is currently serving as your second officer, and all you can say is 'so what!'

"Tell me something I don't know, Doctor. A month ago Major Sarah Inviere-Adama warned us about this attack, warned us that this would happen. I along with several other members of the crew have known about the Major's true nature for a while now. She has been very cooperative. Now, I'd ask that you keep this quiet until we have time to divulge it to everyone. Understand, Doctor?"

"Yes, I understand, perfectly."

"By the way, how did you come across this information?"

"I've met a woman just like you. She, uh, worked on the CNP project. There was something always off about her. She flat out told me that I was a Cylon, trying to guilt me I suppose, seeing that it was my program that did this. When I saw the major, I knew she had to be one as well."

"Okay, thank you, Doctor." The President's Chief Scientific Advisor turned tail and ran, from a conversation that went no way like it was supposed to.

When it was all said and done: the body count ratcheted up, enemy suppression barrages and firing solutions, combat landings and Starbuck's version of flying. All was quiet. Funeral arrangements began. However a final meeting of the Whistleblower Committee occurred, plus two new members. Lee Adama, who was in a serious depression, that had forced him to reconcile with his father, who took him back with wide open arms; and Laura Roslin, who was finding out that the daughter she never had, never had a mother at all.

"So let me get this strait, you're a Cylon?"

"Yes, Madam President."

"The Cylons look like us now?"

"Yes, Madam President."

"The Cylons that have eradicated the human race?"

"Yes, Madam President."

"And you don't agree with their plan?"

"No, Madam President, I do not."

"And you tried to warn people?"

"Yes, Madam President."

"Just one last question, What is all this 'Madam President' crap about?"

"Well, I-thought- that is-"

"You thought that just because you were a Cylon I wouldn't care about you or like you anymore?"  
"Correct, Madam President."

"You've always known you were a Cylon, correct?"

"Yes, Madam President."

"Yet you made your own choices, or at least you appeared to, we'll leave that up to the philosophers."

"To the best of my knowledge, yes, Madam President."

"I like you for who you are Sarah Inviere-Adama, This doesn't change any of that." She then went to hug the younger woman.

"Thank you, Laura."

"Now, go out there and knock them into a coma! Figuratively, of course."

Sarah smiled a real and true smile, and mock saluted, "Sir, yes, sir!"

And so, that's how Earth didn't become the biggest bombshell on the agenda at the funeral.

After Bill had finished his speech, Sarah took the podium.

"Hello, For those of you that don't know me, I am Major Sarah Inviere-Adama, Second Officer of the Battlestar _Galactica_ and loving wife of Commander William Adama, as of, she glanced at her watch, 36 hours ago. Today I come to you with an important announcement. The Command Staff of _Galactica_ has known for the past month that an attack by the Cylons was imminent."

The crowd started murmuring.

"That is why we have been putting this crew through more drills and more training flights in the past month than the past twenty-five years. We also discovered a disturbing revelation about the Cylons. They have evolved during the past forty years."

More murmuring.

"They now look, and feel human."

Murmuring escalates to shouting. Sarah holds up her hand asking for quiet.

"You may be wondering how we know this. We know this is true because-I am a Cylon."

Dead Silence.

"That's right, I am a member of the Cylon race. However, I am not with the Cylons. I am Sarah Inviere-Adama: Loving Wife and Officer of the Colonial Fleet. Whatever else I am doesn't matter. Because that is who choose to be!"

AN: Please Review, Thanks to those who have.

No one even tried to guess the meaning of "The System is Blinking Red." The correct answer is that it is a phrase used in the 9/11 commission report to describe the failure of the Intelligence Community to stop 9/11.

Season one will be covered in three chapters: The next chapter will cover the episodes, '33, Water, and Litmus'

The Wedding vows used in this chapter come from the website "My Wedding Vows"


	8. The Definition of Trust

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

Chapter 8

The Definition of Trust

**0230 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**130.35 hours without sleep**

Sarah was standing on the bridge staring at the Dradis console. She had been on watch now for five hours and thirty minutes. Bill and Saul were supposed to come back up after the next "cycle" as everyone seemed to be calling it.

Thirty-three minutes, the Cylons were coming every thirty-three minutes. It had taken Sarah and Felix Gaeta about three days with their sleep deprived brains to come up with a working theory about why the Cylons were coming every thirty-three minutes. They finally decided that it took thirty-three minutes because it took that long for a signal relaying their position to reach the Cylons, and then three minutes to spin up their FTL Drives.

The question was where was this supposed theory coming from?

They had already eliminated the three most likely suspects. The two Cylon transponders (the one from the Dradis Console and the one from Sarah's FTL Jump Inverter) were confirmed to not be transmitting anything, by Sarah, Lieutenant Gaeta and Dr. Baltar; for added safety they were locked in a lead lined box.

The only other suspect was Sarah.

_**Flashback**_

_**0600 Hours**_

_**CIC**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_**48.5 hours without sleep**_

_Sarah was surprised by the reaction of the crew to her revealing herself as a Cylon. Some of the crew, acted a bit coldl,y distant toward her. Some of them kept giving her questioning looks, whispering. Some of them looked at her like a nuclear bomb about to go off. And some looked at her like they always had._

_The CIC crew fell into the last group._

_Of course, Sarah didn't have a lot of time to observe the crew because about six hours after the funeral the Cylons showed up. Galactica held them at bay while the rest of the fleet escaped._

_Thirty-three minutes later they showed up again, and again, and again._

_It was getting rather annoying._

_It had taken them 97 jumps for someone to get up the nerve to suggest the possibility that it might be her._

_Sarah had considered that she might be (unintentionally) leading the Cylons to them. So she developed a simple test. She walked over to the star chart where Lt. Gaeta was planning the next jump. She found a spot on the map, a small planetoid inside Raptor jump range._

_"Mr. Gaeta."_

_"Yes, Sir?"_

_"I want the fleet to be here in three jumps."_

_"Sir?"_

_"On the next cycle, I'll leave in a Raptor, jump there, and wait. If the Cylons are tracking me, then they'll show up where I am. If they are not then they will still follow the Fleet. You will jump again after that, before jumping to where I am. Then we can answer this question before it becomes an issue."_

_Commander Adama had been listening._

_"Sarah, you don't have to do this."_

_"No, Bill, I do. I need to convince everyone and myself that I am not doing this. Because if I am, then I…I don't know."_

_"Alright, take a Raptor."_

_Sarah saluted and headed to the launch bay. She walked into a Raptor and started the start up sequence. Sharon walked in behind her._

_"Lieutenant, what are you doing here?"_

_"Going with you."_

_"You can't, the Commander needs you here."_

_"No, you need a pilot, get out of my seat."_

_Sarah saw there would be no convincing her._

_"Fine, but we do this my way."_

_"Yes, sir."_

_Within ten minutes they were spinning up their FTL drive, and jumping to the coordinates. Sarah took a big sigh of relief. She took out her side arm and handed it to Sharon._

_"What's this for?"_

_"In case the Cylons do come, I wanted to give you the option to shoot me, or something."_

_"Or something?"_

_"Whatever, after all, I'd be ruining your life too."_

_Sharon sighed and turned to face her, "Sarah, I am not telling you this as your pilot or your subordinate, but as your friend and bridesmaid. You are not responsible; the Cylons aren't going to show up. Trust me."_

_They slept for the next hour until the Dradis started bleeping._

_"New Contact! It's the fleet. See, I told you, Major, everything will be fine."_

_Sarah didn't want to get her hopes up, not yet, "Galactica, Blondie, requesting status report."_

_"Blondie, Galactica Actual, the Cylons showed up on schedule, we still don't know how they're following us."_

_"Copy that, request landing clearance."_

_"Come on home."_

_End Flashback._

After that, Sarah had spent the next six hours covering a shift in the CIC for Bill and Saul. The two poor old men (though she would never admit thinking that to anyone, ever) were practically dead on their feet. Actually this was the first time she was happy that she was a Cylon, apparently she didn't need sleep. So she was helping the exhausted Lt. Gaeta plot jumps before handling communications with Dee, and then doing DC with Capt. Kelley. A circle that kept going around and around. She noticed that not everyone was doing as well as she was. The CIC people were getting steadily more exhausted. The DC teams were slower. The pilots were losing effectiveness.

After the six hours were up, Sarah decided to go join the Viper squadron for a few hours. That brought her to her first experience fighting Cylons one on one.

_**Flashback**_

_**1300 Hours**_

_**Blondie's Viper**_

_**Outside Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_**55.5 hours without sleep**_

_Sarah sat in her Viper alongside the rest of the squadron, three minutes before the Cylons would show up. Though she had never piloted a Viper in combat before she was sure that she would do fine. On the thirty-three minute mark exactly, several baseships jumped in where Galactica was waiting. As the rest of the feet jumped away the Vipers went after the Raiders._

_Fighting a Raider was a fascinating experience for Sarah. She could almost predict the Raider's next move, where it would be. Within the three minutes the battle lasted she killed five of them before combat landing on the flight pod. For the next six hours this procedure repeated itself again and again. Sarah never once felt remorse for blowing a Raider up._

_End Flashback_

Eventually, Sarah would end up killing more raiders than any of the pilots, including Starbuck. By the time it was all said and done, over a thousand people were dead, and the Cylons left them alone. They still had no idea how the Cylons had followed them. And that scared her more than anything else.

**0950 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Directly after the water tanks blew up**

The moment the water tanks blew up, everyone looked at Sarah, who just sighed and shook her head, "I was on Colonial One for the past week." It was true, she had, in addition to the rest of her duties volunteered to become the de facto Acting Secretary of Education for 5,500 children, 150 teachers and 50 volunteer teachers (apparently, teachers didn't take a vacation on FTL capable Luxury Liners, so some college professors had volunteered to teach younger children), with twelve separate educational systems and styles, a very limited number of supplies and books, and turn them in to a cohesive system. Sarah figured that she'd be able to turn it over to someone else in about a month or so, if she was lucky.

Anyway, everyone just sighed and started trying to figure out who did it.

Of course, Lt. Gaeta just had to bring up that a human couldn't survive the pressure of a water tank; which then led to the question about a Cylon surviving, which then led to Sarah going swimming. She didn't like that very much, even though they did find out that a Cylon could survive the pressure of a journey into the tank.

What annoyed Sarah more was that she couldn't figure out for the life of her, who was a Cylon onboard the ship. She didn't even have a suspect. Of course, her life was about to get just a bit harder.

**1400 Hours**

**Board of Inquiry**

**Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**The day after Aaron Doral blew himself up**

Sarah was sitting in front of the board of inquiry being harassed, er, questioned, by the master-at-arms, Sergeant Hadrian, a thoroughly unpleasant woman.

"So, _Major_, you were in the vicinity of the bomb detonation yesterday." Hadrian showed absolutely no respect for her.

"Yes."

"Then how do we know that you didn't leave the door open?"

"Because I was nowhere near the explosion before it happened. The Commander and I were approaching the area when the bomb went off."

"Ah, yes, the Commander. Do you have any idea how many fraternization regs you broke with that little marriage stunt of yours?"

"My marriage is not a stunt."

"Of course it is, how could it not be? You're not even human?"

"All a marriage requires is that there are two Colonial citizens. That's it. I am an officer in the Colonial Fleet. In order to do that I have to be a citizen. Therefore, I am a Colonial citizen. Therefore, the marriage is valid, a copy of the certificate transmitted from the Caprica Department of Vital Statistics is available for your perusal at any time."

"But, you achieved your commission by lying to the government."

"I did not lie, Sergeant. Everything was true, I did indeed graduate from Caprica University and work for the Department of Education."

"But you neglected to tell them you were a Cylon."

"They didn't ask."

"So a lie of omission?"

"You can't omit something if someone doesn't ask about it."

The Panel was getting a little annoyed at this point.

"Sergeant, the Major's status as a citizen or being is not in the prevue of this investigation. Get back on track."

"Ah right, so where were we? Ah yes, your fraternization violations. First, you 'marry' your commanding officer. Then you involve junior officers and even enlisted in your little 'ceremony' what do you have to say to that, hmm?"

"I have to say what does that have to do with security issues on _Galactica_?"

"What does it have to do, it has everything to do. Adama has run this ship—"

"Which one?"

"What?"

"Which Adama, there are three."

"Commander Adama of course, he has run this ship like a piece of trash since the decommissioning orders came down. He still is, that's how a Cylon managed to get aboard."

"No, it's not, Sergeant, it's your staff's fault. You were informed about the existence of Humanoid Cylons, including Mr. Doral. Yet you let someone that looks like him onboard this ship."

"No, you're a Cylon Collaborator, who's married to a ship's thoroughly incompetent commander!"

"I am not a Cylon Collaborator, nor have I ever been I tried to warn the government they wouldn't listen!"

The stenographer was having trouble keeping up.

The panel's heads swung back and forth like a tennis match.

They had enough.

"Sergeant Hadrian, that it enough! It is clear that you are no longer impartial in this investigation. You're services are no longer required."

"You have no right."

"We have every right, you started leading us on a witch-hunt, we will not go down that path." The panel members consulted each other for several minutes before turning back to the room. "We will handle any and all questioning from here on out."

The Panel concluded two days later. Its official report was that the door remained unlocked for "inappropriate and unethical reasons" and censured the deck crew, Chief Tyrol and Lieutenant Valerii. It also censured Sergeant Hadrian and her staff for failing to secure weapons and provide adequate checkpoints for security. Finally it concluded that they could not discount the possibility of an active Cylon Agent onboard _Galactica_ and that increased security and priority should be given to the Cylon detector.

Through these three trials the crew learned to trust Sarah, trust her opinions, her orders, and her judgment. Everything was back to normal.

Please Review, Thanks to those who have.

AN: the next chapter will be called 'A Comedy of Cylon Errors' and cover all the 1st season Galactica-Cylon interactions. After that there is only one chapter left in the first season.

Also, for those of you who like post-nuclear attack fiction I've recently started a Jericho-West Wing fanfiction story (you don't need to be that familiar with them to read it) The fic's titled 'President Moss.'


	9. What Kind of Day has it Been

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: I know I said this chapter was going to be on Sarah's interaction with Cylons. Well, when I started writing, it became a tongue-in-cheek parody of the Cylon Plan. So I decided to skip it and get to this chapter.

AN2: "The Plan," the upcoming BSG TV Movie will be disregarded for the purposes of this story. A John Cavil puttering around on Galactica messes things up for me.

AN3: This chapter will be told in a series of flashbacks covering the events of Kobol's Last Gleaming.

Chapter 9

What Kind of Day has it Been

**2000 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**After the discovery of Kobol, President Roslin's arrest, and blowing up a Baseship.**

Major Sarah Inviere-Adama was not having a good day. It had started out well enough. Somehow Sharon and Felix had miraculously stumbled on Kobol, the ancient home of humanity. That was good. That was the only good thing. Then the President started having visions, then oops, it turns out the Cylons have a Baseship in orbit over Kobol. A few Raptors are lost. The President convinces _Galactica's _best pilot to take a military asset and go get an arrow. Then her best friend tries to off herself.

That reminded Sarah that she had to start counseling her

Her husband suddenly decides to end democracy and she can't do a thing to convince him otherwise. Her stepson suddenly grows a conscience and attacks the XO. Laura is put in the brig. Meanwhile a mentally unstable Sharon blows up a Baseship.

Her thoughts are interrupted as Sharon and Racetrack enter the CIC after their successful mission to cheers and applause. They walked over toward Bill and her. Sara looks at Sharon and feels bad for her, why had her best friend suddenly tried to commit suicide? Sarah absently watches Bill shake Racetrack's hand, before looking at Sharon.

Sara looks into her eyes.

Oh.

She looks at Sharon's hand.

Oh frack.

_**Flashback**_

_**0830 hours**_

_**President Roslin's Office**_

**Colonial One**

_**One and a half hours after the discovery of Kobol**_

"_So you had a vision, of a city, of the Tomb of Athena, and the Arrow of Apollo._

"_Yes."_

"_And what do you think these visions mean?"_

"_That the Tomb and the Arrow are the path to Earth."_

"_One slight problem, we _might_ have the Tomb, but we certainly don't have the Arrow. Unless of course you have the Delphi Museum in your carry-on, Laura."_

"_We have a Cylon Raider."_

"_Good luck convincing Bill to lend you that."_

"_I was hoping you would help."_

"_No way, I agree with the idea of finding the path to Earth, but seriously, we might need that raider for something, more," she searched for the right word, "immediate."_

"_I'm dying, Sarah."_

_Well, that's a non seqieter_

"_What?"_

"_Cancer, it's terminal. Have you ever read Pythia?"_

"_No, wait, what are you doing about it?"_

"_Chamala Extract."_

"_Well no wonder you're having hallucinations!"_

"_Pythia speaks of a second exodus of man, led by a dying leader."_

"_And you think that's you?"_

"_Yes."_

"_I'd love to help you, Sarah, but I can't. I can't go against Bill, when the only evidence is drug induced hallucinations. I can't support you. I'm sorry, Laura."_

_Sarah turned and left._

_**1800 Hours**_

_**Sickbay**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_After the pilots and the Chief wished Boomer well and left, Sarah entered and looked at Sharon._

_"Hello, Sharon."_

_"Sarah."_

_"Want to talk about it?"_

_"Nothing to talk about, I forgot to check the chamber."_

_"Oh, no, you remembered. I know you Sharon. Please, let me help you."_

_"I, I just feel like everyone would be better off without me."_

_"That's not true. You are a good pilot, Sharon, a good officer. We need people like you."_

_"Trust me, you don't."_

_"What do you mean by that Sharon?"_

_Sharon just simply turned over._

_"Sharon?"_

_"Go Away," she murmured._

_"Okay, but this is not over."_

_She left the bed and went to talk to Doc Cottle._

_"Major."_

"_Doctor Cottle, I want Lieutenant Valerii on suicide watch."_

_"I suspected as much," he sighed, "I'll get right on it."_

_"Thank you."_

_She turned to leave, before meeting Bill in the Sickbay entrance._

"_Bill, what's wrong?"_

"_I need Boomer for a mission."_

"_Well you can't have her."_

"_Why not?" A slight edge appeared to his voice._

"_Because she is currently on suicide watch."_

"_I need her."_

"_Well you can't have her!"_

_Sharon's voice came through sickbay, "let him in, Major."_

_Sarah glared at Bill, "this isn't over, Bill." She stormed out of Sickbay. A few minutes into Saul, Lee, and a number of marines. _

"_What's happening?"_

"_Roslin refused to resign, we're going to arrest her."_

"_What! You can't do that!"_

"_Why not, Major."_

"_I believe the legal definition is Military Coup."_

"_Exactly."_

_Sarah groaned, this had Bill written all over it. "I'm going with you."  
"No you're not."_

"_Yes I am, Saul!"_

"_Why?"_

"_Laura Roslin is an unmovable object. I won't have the closest thing I have to a mother killed because you get inpatient!"_

_Saul stopped and thought about it._

"_Fine! But if you do anything, I'll airlock you."_

"_And if you shoot her, they'll never find the body."_

"_Now that we understand each other can we please get moving?"_

_They quickly walked to the launch bay. On the way over, Sarah thought about everything that was happening today. It was not a good day. It seemed like her relationship with Bill, over two years in the making, was going to be ripped to pieces in a matter of hours._

_When they arrived at _Colonial One_ the security team was there with their guns pointed at the marines who moved to stand toe to toe with the security team. Colonel Tigh asked President Roslin to stand down, she refused. Suddenly Lee had some change of heart and turns on Tigh._

"_Lower your weapon, Captain!"_

"_Lower yours Colonel, this is wrong."_

_Sarah spoke up, "I know. Why doesn't everyone lower their weapons and we can discuss this like civilized adults."_

"_We tried that, Major, it didn't work," Tigh said._

"_You can't just remove a President, there's a procedure to it."_

"_She broke the agreement."_

"_A verbal agreement that wouldn't stand up in court, Colonel."_

"_Court! Are you kidding me?"  
"We still have a government for a reason."_

"_Yeah, well we won't much longer."_

"_What's the point of arguing you? You're just a little boy with a gun."_

_Saul pointed his gun at Sarah, standing off to the side, between the two groups_

"_Quiet, Major!"_

_That was the straw that broke Laura's back._

"_Alright, I'll come along; just lower your weapons, okay."  
On the trip back, Sarah could only think of how much she wanted to kill Bill Adama._

_After they arrived and put Laura in the brig, everyone left, leaving Sarah and Bill in an empty corridor. Sarah slapped him._

"_Damn you, Bill. You took an oath as an officer, to defend the Articles of Colonization, you broke that oath, and why? Because the president exercises her legitimate authority as Commander-in-Chief!"_

"_We had an agreement."_

"_We have the articles, Bill!"_

"_She usurped my authority."  
"Your authority? You work for her, Bill, or have your forgotten the chain of command?"_

"_I needed that Raider, she knew it!"_

"_She needed it too, and you managed to get it done without the Raider."_

"_That remains to be seen, Sarah."_

_A nearby phone rang. Bill answered it, "Commander."_

_A brief conversation._

"_Thank you, Mr. Gaeta," he turned to Sarah, "well it seems you were right, Major, Boomer and Racetrack are back. They're meeting us in the CIC._

_Sarah followed him, but was still mad_

_End Flashback_

Sara looks into Sharon's eyes.

It's as if a cloud was lifted off her head, she remembers everything. Including that Sharon Valerii, her best friend, was a Cylon

She looks at Sharon's hand.

Oh frack.

A sidearm.

Bill reaches out to shake Sharon's hand

The gun comes up.

Sarah pushes Bill out of the way.

The gun goes off.

Sara jerks as the bullet hits her.

Bill holds her, instinctively pulling her over to the CIC table.

Sharon adjusts her aim.

Racetrack tackles her.

The gun goes off again

Sarah jerks a second time.

Sharon hits the floor, hard.

Bill gets Sarah onto the CIC table with Dee's help. The Condition One klaxons are going off. Everyone is running around, someone's shouting to get Doc Cottle. Dee is holding Sarah's hand while Bill stands over her trying to stop the bleeding. He sees Sarah whispering something and leans over to hear her. She says two words, "I remember," and looses consciousness.

AN: That concludes season one of The Defector. Season two will start after I watch season two and Razor of BSG and develop a plan

AN2: Please review, thanks to those who have (namely ArrowMk84, the only person to review the last chapter)

AN3: Can anyone identify where the title and format of this chapter came from?


	10. For the Sake of Sarah

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: Congratulations to Caroline (anonymous reviewer who correctly identified that the previous chapter's title and format (having the ending at the beginning) came from the first season finale of _The West Wing_, where there was an assassination attempt on the president, his daughter, and his personal assistant.

This chapter covers the events of Scattered, Valley of Darkness, and Fragged

Chapter 10

For the Sake of Sarah

**2001 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Directly after the shooting.**

Chaos.

That was the only word that could describe the state in the CIC, sheer and absolute chaos. Bill was still trying to stem Sarah's bleeding, Sharon was on the ground asking what happened, Saul looked helpless, only Lieutenant Gaeta was still functioning, barely. About a minute later Ishay and the rest of the medics arrived, they got Sarah on a gurney and rushed her to sickbay.

After that things calmed down a bit, Bill looked at his hands, with his wife's blood on them. He was lost. So, Saul stepped up to the plate,

"Sergeant of the Guard, get that thing to the brig."

"Yes, Sir!"

He looked at Lee, and then at Bill, and groaned.

"Release Captain Adama." The Marines undid the handcuffs and Lee walked over.

"Get your dad down to sickbay; he can't stay up her, not like this." Lee nodded and gently led his father away. Bill arrived down in sickbay where they had intubated Sarah and hooked her up to monitors. This shocked him out of his comatose stated, allowing him to regain his composure.

"Sitrep."

"Her vitals are dropping; she most likely has some internal hemorrhaging, her left lung collapsed from one of the bullets and the second impacted in her upper abdomen, probably puncturing her liver. We need Doctor Cottle to operate, immediately, or we will lose her."

"He picked the _worst_ day to make house calls."

Layne just nodded

Then the Condition One alarm sounded, followed a few minutes later by the jump clock.

"What the frack?"

Bill ran out of Sickbay with Lee on his heels. They didn't even stop when the ship jumped.

Meanwhile, back in the CIC

"Sir, the fleet, it's not on DRADIS." This shocked Colonel Tigh

"What? Did we have the right jump coordinates?"

"Yes, sir, we did…" it dawned on, "I'm sorry, sir, I forgot to update the Fleet's Emergency Jump Coordinates, I was going to, then…"

"Okay, Mr. Gaeta, now how are we going to get back?"

"Someone give me a Sitrep." Bill Adama arrived on the scene.

"The Fleet jumped to the wrong coordinates, we forgot to update the coordinates at the start of the shift."

"Oh," Bill really couldn't get angry, not now. "Mr. Gaeta!"

"Yes, Commander?"

"I want a plan on how we can get back to the fleet right frakkin' now. Clear?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Colonel, you have the watch." Bill had to get back to Sickbay, things just got more complicated, and he was losing his cool.

**1100 Hours Local time**

**Delphi Museum of the Colonies**

**Caprica**

**Right after impaling a random Six.**

"Oh, great, Boomer's a Cylon? Seriously, are all my friends Cylons?"

Helo interjected, "I'm your friend, and I'm not a Cylon."

"True. But I thought you were dead, so you don't count," she paused, "so let me get this straight, she's says she's pregnant, with your child?"

"She is."

"How would you know that?"

"I trust her."

Kara's experience with humanoid Cylons was fairly limited. She only had two examples, Leoben Conoy, a lying manipulative headfraker, and Major Inviere-Adama, one of the finest people she had ever known. The question was which category did this new Sharon fall into?

"Why would you abandon your own people?"

"I love him."

"You love him? Why?"

"Does anyone know why?"

"Good answer, okay, so what's the plan then?"

"We get out of here and back to the Fleet."

"Well, Helo that's a good plan, except for the issue of transportation, a raider can only hold one."

"Leave that to me."

"You, how do I know I can trust you," Kara asked.

"You don't, that's the definition of trust. Head north out of the city, there aren't that many Cylons out that way, I'll be back in a few days."

"Where are you going?"

"To get a ride."

**2030 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Sir, I really need Doctor Cottle here. If she doesn't have the surgery soon, she'll die."

"It's going to be a while until we can get him here. Can you do the surgery, Layne?"

"Commander, I'm a paramedic, not a doctor."

"Today you're a doctor, get ready."

"Yes, sir."

Bill left sickbay and headed toward the brig. When he arrived Valerii was tied to a chair in the center of the cell with several marines pointing guns at her. She was crying.

"Open cell."

The cell opened and he stepped in. Bill walked around the chair a few times, until Sharon finally spoke up, "How's Sarah, sir?"

"Clinging to life, barely."

Sharon starts sobbing again, "Oh, no, this is all my fault."

"Yes, it is. You missed and you hit her." He picked her up and threw her into the wall, grinding her injured cheek into it. "Why did you try to kill me? Why?"

"I don't know! I don't even remember trying, I'm sorry!"

Bill held out his hand, "Sidearm."

A marine put a sidearm in his hands. He points the gun at Sharon's head.

"Why did you try to kill me?"

"I don't know!" Sharon was hysterical by this point, "just do it, please, just kill me."

Bill thinks for a moment and hands the gun back to the marine, "that's not my decision, it's Sarah's." He lets her go and she drops to the floor, and curls up into a fetal position. He walks out.

Bill returns to the CIC where he finds Captain Kelly, Lieutenant Gaeta and Saul standing over one of the tables, looking at a map. He stands back and watches them

"They could be anywhere in this sector, sir."

"A sector, really, do you have any idea how big a sector is Mr. Gaeta?"

"Some, sir."

"What if we go back to our previous coordinates and plot it from there, how long would that take?"

"Well, if we purge all non essential functions from the FTL Core, about twelve hours."

"Twelve hours, we can't hold off a Baseship for twelve frakkin' hours."

"Well, there is one other option."

"What is it Mr. Gaeta?"

"If we network the FTL, Fire Control, and Navigation systems we might be able to get a fix and the coordinates in about seven minutes"

"Are you crazy Lieutenant, we will not network the computers on this ship, then we'd be sitting ducks for the Cylons."

"I can devise a series of software firewalls to buy us some time."

"_Software firewalls,_ against an enemy that lives and breathes computer code?"

"Sir, it's the only way to get back to the fleet before Major Inviere-Adama dies."

Bill spoke up, "do it."

They turned around and looked at him in surprise.

"Do it now, Felix, we're running out of time."

"Yes, sir!" Felix returned to his station. Saul confronted Bill

"Bill, are you sure about this?"

"Saul, I've hurt Sarah with too many of my frackups today, The President, forcing Sharon to go on that mission. I refuse to let her die when I could have prevented it. Besides, this ship has no purpose without The Fleet."

"You didn't always used to think that."

"I know, it was one thing Laura was right about. What if she was right about other things too."

Bill left the CIC again in a daze. His feet carried him back to Sickbay, where Sarah was being prepped for surgery, he turned to Ishay, "give us a minute."

"Hurry, sir, she doesn't have much time."

Bill nodded and turned back to Sarah, "dear, I'm so sorry, you're right, I messed up, I felt so betrayed. It was a difference of opinion, one Laura and I blew out of proportion. I forgot my promise to get to Earth, I ruined this fleet, and I forced you into an impossible position. You have become the most important part of my life—I, I don't know if I can live without you. Please, Sarah, Please wake up." Bill then left and returned to the CIC.

**0110 Hours**

**Brig**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**After reuniting with the Fleet**

Bill and Laura stood on opposite sides of the brig, staring at each other, and staring at each other, and staring at each other. Finally Laura broke the ice.

"So, how's Sarah?"

"She's in surgery now, Doc Cottle's still not here though."

"She's a strong woman, Bill, she'll make it through."

Bill nodded, more silence. Bill broke the silence this time.

"We need to talk about this."

"I did what I thought was right."

"You broke our agreement."

"I know. But then again, you wanted to pass up on the only possible road sign to Earth."

"It was a pretty thin lead."

"It was our only lead."

"You put my best pilot in danger."

"No, she volunteered."

"Fine, I can't do this anymore. Laura, I forgive you."

"I didn't ask for your forgiveness, pal."

"We have to move on past this, if we don't it could divide the fleet, and it would divide Sarah."

"We need to put this past us."

"For Sarah's sake."

"For Sarah's sake."

"Corporal, door."

"Yes, sir."

Then the lights started flickering.

"What's going on?"

The lights go out.

"Emergency power should have kicked in by now."

"It didn't."

"The sound-power phone should still work."

Bill cranked the phone and dialed the CIC, but couldn't get through.

"Lines are jammed."

"It's probably just a power outage."

"Battlestars don't have power outages, Madam President."

"I've got to get to the CIC."

Then they heard muffled gunfire and shouting.

"What's going on out there, Corporal, sidearm." Bill hand out his hand and Corporal Venner handed him his gun. A few minutes of tension passed before,

"Corporal Venner, don't shoot, it's Captain Adama with a fire team."

The door opened and Lee stepped in with a few marines.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Lee, what the hell is going on?"

"We've been boarded there are Cylons of the chrome toaster variety all over the place, and only explosive rounds will stop them."

"I've got to get to the CIC, the president, Mr. Keikeya, and Corporal Venner will be coming with me."

"Right, Sergeant Harder, go with them, and make sure they don't do something stupid like get themselves killed."

"Sir," Harder nodded and joined the other group.

"Lee, get to an arms locker and get some explosive rounds, then go to Aft Damage Control, that's where the Cylons are going."

"Aft Damage Control?"

"It's a hunch, call and check with the CIC at the locker."

"Aye, Sir."

"Right, let's move out."

The group split in two parts.

After walking, climbing ladders and seeing nothing, but death for about ten minutes, they finally came across a living person, who was in quite a bit of shock

Dee.

Billy ran over to her, "Dee, Dee!"

No response.

Commander Adama gave it a try, "Petty Officer Dualla!"

That got her to snap out of it.

"Sir?"

"Good Morning, Dee. How are you?"

"I'll be fine, Sir."

"Good, then, let's keep moving."

They walked through a couple corridors before they saw the back of a single centurion, walking away from them. Bill charged the thing and jumped on its back, grabbed its head and pulled, snapping its neck. Everyone just stared at him with their mouths hanging open. Finally, Laura recovered her power of speech.

"Bill!"

"Cylon necks are still weaker than human necks." Silence. "Well, what are you all standing around for; we need to get to the CIC."

**0600 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Life onboard was slowly returning to normal. Doc Cottle had arrived after the Cylon issue was dealt with and had determined that Sarah was doing fine and would make a full recovery, but he wouldn't say when she would wake up.

Laura and Billy returned to Colonial One to start restoring the faith of the people in their government. She was also spending a lot of time with Elosha examining the Book of Pythia.

Bill was keeping a vigil over Sarah's bed. She was breathing on her own now, and looking better. But, she was still unconscious.

Bill was reading _Searider Falcon _to her when she woke up.

"Bill?" She asked in a raspy whisper.

"Sarah, are you awake? Oh, Sarah, I'm so sorry about that fight we had before…"

"Bill, where is she?"

"Who?"

"Sharon, where is Sharon?"

"Don't worry, she's in the brig, under heavy guard, you're completely safe here."

"I have to see her."

"Why? You just woke up after she shot you."

"No she didn't, not really."

"Sarah?"

"Bill, I remember everything, and I think I know what happened to Sharon."

AN: Please review, thanks to those who have.


	11. For the Sake of Sharon

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of Resistance, The Farm and the very beginning of Home Part 1

Chapter 11

For the Sake of Sharon

**1400 Hours**

**The Brig**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**The day Sarah woke up.**

Tick, tock, tick, tock. The clock in the brig was ticking, there was silence, the guards had all been sent outside, and the cell was just occupied by two people.

Or Cylons if you want to be specific, one of whom just shot the other.

Awkward.

Sarah had learned a lot about the Cylons when she remembered everything. She now knew that there were twelve Cylon models the "Significant Eight" and the "Final Five".

One was the man she once knew as John Cavil, who she briefly had a relationship with. Now she was certain that the mastermind knew exactly who she was. Incestuous bastard.

Two was the man known as Leoben Conoy, mindfracker who fancies himself a prophet and is very religious. She was quite happy about Laura airlocking him.

Three was a female, driven, curious, yet thinks she's always right and will do what she must to prove it. She seemed to remember seeing her somewhere in passing, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Four was a logical guy, didn't have much in the way of religious beliefs and liked medicine. Sara would have liked him if he had a bid of a heart.

Five was a sleazy bastard; Sarah really didn't like him, especially after arresting the Aaron Doral copy.

The Sixes, her sisters, from what she could tell she had nothing in common with them, except for her closest "sister" Gina. They were seductresses, nymphomaniacs and sweet talkers. The seemed to like platinum blond hair for some reason. Although, she had to say she liked him.

Seven was a mystery; there was limited information on him, Daniel, artistic, yet failed during early development.

There was next to nothing on the Final Five. They were from Earth and apparently lived separately from the other Cylons.

An Eight was the problem she was facing. Apparently, she "switched on" and tried to shoot Bill. Tried being the operative word because Sarah had gotten shot instead. This Eight, Sharon, had been her best friend for two years and was in her wedding. Now, she didn't know what to believe, even about herself.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

She had to make sure Sharon wouldn't shoot Bill again, so she decided on a plan.

"You missed."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Sorry you missed?"

"No, sorry I shot you."

"Well, you should be sorry you missed, because it was in The Plan."

"What?"

"You're not following The Plan, you made a mess, and now, I need to clean it up."

"Are you saying you wanted me to shoot the Old Man?"

"That is exactly what I am saying. You need to kill him."

"Why did you jump in front of him then?"

"It secured my cover, you were supposed to actually hit him the second time."

"But I don't know why I shot him in the first place."

"It's a preconditioned program. Once you were switched on, your mission was simple. Kill William Adama. You failed. But luckily, I'm giving you another chance."

She pulled two sidearms out of a bag.

"Bill and I set up a test, to make sure you were on the right side. We would give you a gun loaded with blanks and see if you shoot him. However, these guns are not loaded with blanks; they have live ammo in them. Keep that in mind. Also, keep in mind that the consequences of failure will be severe. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Sharon whispered. She picked up one of the sidearms and Sarah picked up the other, holstering it.

"Good, then let's get started."

Sarah went over to the phone and dialed, "Bill? It's Sarah, you two can come in now sweetie."

A minute went by before the hatch opened and Bill and the Chief stepped through, they walked up and stood at the table. Bill started growling at Sharon.

"Lieutenant, I want an explanation, now. Why did you try to shoot me, hmm, why? Because you missed! And you hit my wife instead! So now, do you want to try again?" He put his sidearm on the table and pushed it toward Sharon. "Do it, do it now, shoot me!"

Sharon was hysterical again, "But, but I don't want to, I didn't mean to, I don't know why I tried to, but I don't."

Sarah pulled out her sidearm and pointed it at the Chief, "Do it, or I shoot your boyfriend."

The Chief looked at Sarah with fear, "Major, what are you doing?"

As did Bill, "Sarah, put the gun down."

"Shut up, human. And you, my _darling _husband should know better than to trust a Cylon. Do it now Sharon, I'll give you to the count of five. One."

Sharon brought the gun that Sarah gave up into position. Bill's eyes widened.

"Two."

Sharon stared at the gun

"Sharon, don't do it."

"Three."

Sharon aimed at Bill.

"Four."

Sharon twisted and fired.

At Sarah.

There was a loud bang, a flash, and then nothing, no splatter, no cries, no second shot.

She blinked.

Sarah had holstered her sidearm and started clapping, slowly.

"Congratulations, Sharon, you passed."

"Passed what?"

"The test."

"But what about everything you said earlier?"

"Mostly lies and damn good acting if I do say so myself. You shooting Bill was a preconditioned response, you had not control over your actions at the time, it was like you were running on autopilot. Shooting me was not your fault. Call it not guilty by means of temporary insanity. I needed to make sure that what we saw was just that, and that you still did not want to shoot Bill. From what sense I can make of the data in my head, you shouldn't have anymore hidden protocols or programs. However it's difficult to be sure."

"So you're not a Cylon?"

"No, I am, I just don't work for them."

"So what am I then?"

"Do you still want to be with the humans? Or do you want to join the other Cylons?"

"No, of course not."

"Good. Well then in that case, your punishment is as follows. For the unauthorized discharge of a firearm endangering the lives of your crewmen you will receive thirty days in the brig and undergo mandatory psychological counseling. Also you will need to requalify for your sidearm."

"What, Why?"

Bill chuckled at this, "you missed."

At this point Sarah started swooning, Bill caught her.

"Sarah, are you alright?"

"I think I know why Sherman said I should stay in sickbay."

Bill slowly guided her over to the hatch and opened it; he turned to the marine standing outside.

"Sergeant Harder."

"Sir?"

"Could you escort the Major back to sickbay, she's not feeling that well."

"Yes sir." The marine slung her rifle across her back and gently took Sarah down to the infirmary.

Adama left and motioned for the Chief to follow him. The reached his office, Bill sat behind his desk and pulled out a bottle of ambrosia and poured two glasses

"Do you love her, Chief?"

"'Scuse me?"

"Sharon. Do you love her?"

"Thought I did."

"Well, when you think you love somebody, you love them. That's what love is. Whatever else she is doesn't matter."

"But she's a machine."

"She's more than that to us. I love a Cylon. You can't love a machine. I care for _Galactica_, I go as far to say I love her, but can I love her as much as Lee? No. I love Sarah more than anything in the world, she's not a machine. If you think Sharon's a machine could you have loved her?

"No, sir. Guess I couldn't have."

"Don't stop loving her because of what she did. If I can love Sarah, then you can love Sharon."

"I'll think about it, sir."

"Do that, Chief, dismissed."

**1000 Hours**

**The Brig**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**The Next Day**

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Silence.

Overnight the deck crew had moved Sarah's lounger and psych couch out of her office and into the Brig. It was a statement. She was going to be spending a lot of time here.

"So how are you today, Sharon?"

"Confused."

"How?"

"How am I not confused? I don't know where the programming ends and I begin, or if there is even an I, or if that is just a program also."

"Well, think about it this way, when you shot Bill that was a program, just as say Colonial Officers snap to attention when the commander comes into the room. Even humans are programmed. I'm having many of the same problems. My memories for example. I know which ones are real, and which ones aren't. Humans dream, they can be very imaginative they can start to question their own memories. So what's to say that our memories are any less real?"

"Honestly, why am I still here, why am I not dead, what value is there to keeping me alive, or talking to me. You should be torturing me or raping me, or executing me."

"Why?"

"Because I shot you, you should hate me!"

"But I don't. Hating you, for shooting me would be like hating the gun you used, or hating an automatic decompression sequence, or hating the firing solution the flak guns put out that ends up getting a pilot killed. _It was a program_! Not you! As for the torture, well, I doubt you'd talk anymore. Killing you would solve nothing and just drive you to the Cylons. And for the raping part, you're really not my type. Your punishment is enough, Sharon. You always have to live with what you did, every day when you see me or Bill, you'll remember. Would it be easier for you to go over to the Cylons? I honestly wouldn't blame you; there at least you wouldn't need to remember."

"But I would anyway. I feel the need to stay. In my mind I feel like I've committed an unforgivable offense. I feel like I need to atone."

And so, this circle went around and around for the next month. As hard as Sarah tried to convince Sharon that she wasn't responsible, Sharon continued to blame herself. Sarah believed that if Sharon had another councilor, one that she hadn't shot, she might have forgiven herself. Eventually, Sarah decided to let Sharon forgive herself on her own terms.

This however, had an unexpected side-effect. Sharon seemed to become devoted to Sarah, and extremely loyal to her, the full effects of this wouldn't be seen for some time.

**1200 Hours**

**Cockpit**

_**Colonial One**_

**In orbit of Kobol**

**Two Weeks Later**

Sarah and Bill sat in the cockpit of _Colonial One_ waiting for Starbuck to return with the Arrow of Apollo. It was decided that moving the entire fleet to Kobol was a unanimously bad idea, because it was dangerous, and might prove to be a temptation to the many people who were tired and wanted to settle. Besides, "any human return to Kobol would be paid in the price of blood" or something like that, so best to keep to a minimum. Therefore, everyone had been moved off of _Colonial One_, including the pilots, leaving the Adamas to pilot the ship.

The "Roslin Expedition" as it was called after the whole dying leader revelation, was very small. It consisted of Laura Roslin, Elosha, and Billy Keikeya from the President's office. Felix, Dee, and the Adamas (all three of them) from _Galactica_, as well as a marine detachment led by Corporal Venner and Sergeant Harder. Also in attendance was Sharon Valerii, who had attended at Sarah's instance (so she could continue the mandatory psychological counseling.) Sharon had remained restrained for the entire journey (at her own insistence, she really didn't trust herself.)

They had been sitting around for a week and were about to give up when it happened. A Heavy Raider appeared on Dradis and everyone on _Colonial One_ panicked, trying to spin up the FTL Drive while taxing the engines to the max and buy some time.

Everyone sighed with relief when Starbuck hailed them. Which led to everyone waiting by the Airlock for Starbuck's ship to dock.

"Wonder where she got the new ride?"

"We're talking about Starbuck here, I really wouldn't ask, she probably did something crazy like blow up an airbase."

"I hope she's got the arrow."

"If she doesn't then we're really screwed."

"Hmm, how would that conversation go, 'sorry everyone, we lied, we can't find earth?"

"Cut the sarcasm, Sarah. I'm sure she has it."

The airlock cycled and Starbuck stepped out, she came in and handed Laura the arrow.

"Thank you, Kara, this means a lot to everyone. I hope your trip to Caprica was productive?"

"Yes it was, I picked up some lost puppies actually."

Karl Agathon stepped through, "Hello, everyone."

Bill discreetly looked at Sarah, who shook her head, Helo was not a Cylon.

Of course they weren't ready for who came in next.

In walked Caprica-Sharon and everyone went crazy. Several things happened in quick succession.

The Marines pointed their weapons at her, flicked the safeties off and prepared to fire.

Galactica-Sharon immediately stepped in front of Sarah, shielding her with her body, while Lee had done the same thing with his dad and Billy shielded the President.

Dee then stepped in front of Elosha, as Karl stepped in front of Sharon.

Sarah just gave a barely audible groan, turned to Bill and said, "Well, this complicates things."

AN: Please review, Thanks to those who have.

The next chapter will cover the time period of "Home" through "Flight of the Phoenix" and will focus on the crew's reaction to Caprica-Sharon as well as Galactica-Sharon's relationships with Sarah, Bill, and Chief Tyrol. The Adamas' will get a few surprises.

Then, we're on to the Pegasus Arc, which will be very different from the show, although I have no idea what it's going to be like. I've already know how it will end (I've written the ending) but the rest is a blank and open to suggestions.


	12. Repairing Rifts and Making More

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Home," "Final Cut," and "Flight of the Phoenix"

Chapter 12

Repairing Rifts and Making More

**1215 Hours**

**The President's Office**

_**Colonial One**_

**In Orbit of Kobol**

In the office of the President of the Colonies, a very interesting argument was taking place between two groups of people over the existence of the third willful Cylon collaborator the fleet had encountered and what to do with her. They had marooned the first one and airlocked the second, so what do they do with the third. Every situation was different.

On the 'keep her around' side of the argument was Karl Agathon, Kara Thrace, and, of course, the Cylon, a Number Eight that goes by the name of "Sharon."

On the airlocking side was Laura Roslin, Bill Adama, and Lee Adama.

In the middle and trying to get everyone to shut up so she could think was Sarah Inviere-Adama.

The _Galactica_ version of Sharon was sitting in the back with her restraints on (even though everyone else was just short of ordering her to take them off) studiously keeping quiet, with the little feelings of self preservation she had left.

As the shouting continued, Sarah had enough.

"Will everyone _please_ SHUT UP!"

Everyone looked at her in surprise, Sarah never yelled.

"Thank You. Okay, let me sum up the situation, we have a Model Eight Cylon who willfully collaborated with the enemy and now is _claiming_ to be defecting. She claims to be responsible for keeping Mr. Agathon alive for the past few months, as well as assisting Starbucks escape, something that she can actually attest to."

Helo was about to interject when Sarah cut him off, "Helo, your judgment on this issue is compromised, to say the least, so just stay quiet." Helo nodded. "Oh, and let's not forget the fact that she's pregnant."

"_Claims_ to be pregnant," Bill adds.

"She is, Bill, just trust me, I know."

"On the other side of the issue, she was at the least complicit, if not accessory to or perpetrator of genocide, so that's an automatic death penalty. But then of course, she's pregnant," Sarah turned to the Eight, "Is there any reason why I should keep you alive?"

"I can find the Tomb of Athena."

Sarah nodded mutely and started pacing before turning to Boomer, "Sharon, what do you think?"

Sharon was surprised that Sarah asked her opinion, she thought for a moment before responding, "She could be an asset. I certainly can't find the Tomb, and it would be a double standard to execute her and not me. But on the other side she is a threat. She, unlike me, knew what she was doing the whole time and didn't try to stop it."

"Thank you, Sharon, that was a good answer." Sarah resumed her pacing, before she reached a decision. "This is what we are going to do, you," she pointed at Caprica-Sharon, "are going to help us find the Tomb of Athena, but if you mess up, or try to kill us, or get us lost, or even look at us the wrong way, I'll cycle the airlock myself. Got it?"

Caprica-Sharon nodded.

"And as for the rest of you, well. Karl, you're clearly too close to her, you have to take a step back, look at the situation objectively, and remember to see the other person's faults in a relationship."

"Look who's talking."

"I do the same thing in my relationship with Bill, it's a good idea for any relationship, Karl, look into it. Starbuck, you were actually sort of sane in this whole conversation, so good job. Bill, stop transferring your hatred of Sharon onto other Eights, I got shot, I forgave her, you forgave her, but this anger is going to tear you apart. Got it?"  
"You're just a soft cuddly stuffed animal aren't you?"

"Yes, but I'm your soft cuddly stuffed animal."

Lee and Kara started making gagging noises.

"Right, sorry."

Laura clapped her hands together, "right, let's get this expedition on the road, people

**1530 Hours**

**The Roslin Expedition**

**On the Surface of Kobol**

It was raining as a strange group of people made their way along an ancient road toward what they assumed was the Tomb of Athena. Taking point were Lee and Kara, closely followed by Sergeant Harder and three random marines. Following them was Galactica-Sharon and Sarah. Sharon finally got out of her restraints, for the simple reason that they were needed for Caprica-Sharon. They in turn were closely followed by the resident navigators, consisting of Caprica-Sharon, Laura, Felix and Elosha. Karl and Bill brought up the rear. Dee and Billy along with Corporal Venner and three of the Marines had stayed with the ship.

Then, the shooting started.

There were a number of Centurions on the ridge above them. Eloshia was hit right away, along with the marine that had the grenade launcher. The rest of the group ran over and took cover in small crevices along the ridge line. Kara and Lee, along with the marines, were returning fire, to little effect, the normal ammunition wasn't having any effect and they were having trouble aiming the explosive rounds. Galactica-Sharon pushed Sarah into the rock and covered Sarah with her body. Karl had done the same with Bill and Felix had covered the president. Caprica-Sharon had crouched down, because she couldn't do anything else.

Sarah just groaned at Galactica-Sharon's antics and pushed her so that she was next to Sarah, instead of on top of her, "you really have got to stop this, Sharon."

"I don't want to see you hurt, sir."

"Nevertheless, we have to discuss your responsibilities—"

Lee was getting a bit annoyed, "Oi! Girls! Shoot now, gossip later!"

Sharon and Sarah just rolled their eyes. Sarah drew the two side arms she had been carrying and tried handing one of them to Sharon, who just started shuddering and shaking her head. Sarah groaned and moved over to Caprica-Sharon. She handed her the gun and an explosive round."

"You get left, I'll get right, on three, one, two, three!" They stepped back from the rocks and fired, blowing the heads off of two of the Cylons, leaving only three. They threw themselves into the wall again, Sarah handed the Eight another round.

"Again, one, two, three!"

BANG! The two centurions directly over them blew up, and promptly fell down, almost hitting them on the head.

Sarah checked, she didn't have any explosive rounds left; she crouched down, while she tried to think of a new plan.

Caprica-Sharon, meanwhile, ran out to where the dead marine was, picked up the grenade launcher, ducked behind a tree and fired, blowing the torso out of the final centurion.

Everyone then pointed their guns at Sharon, who promptly dropped the launcher. Sarah walked up to her, "nice shot."

"Thanks."

**1300 Hours, the next day**

_**Colonial One**_

**En Route back to The Fleet**

Sarah Inviere-Adama sat in _Colonial One's_ main cabin, she was lost in her thoughts about what she had learned. A pregnant Cylon, it actually happened. It made her wonder…until her musings were interrupted by said pregnant woman.

"Why did you decide to trust me?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked why did you decided to trust me."

"I didn't."

"What, but giving me the gun—"

"Was not a risk, I was watching where you were pointing that gun, if you pointed it anywhere except the Centurions, I would have blown your head clean off before you could fire."

"What about the launcher?"

"Same situation, I had my weapon on you the whole time. Actually, I had more than a half a mind to shoot you."

"But I led you to the tomb."

"I have the same information in my head, Sharon, if you had come to a conclusion I didn't like you would have been overridden and then executed when we got back here."

"So what was it then?"

"A test, I wanted to see what choices you made in situations if you thought I couldn't tell the difference. But, unbeknownst to you I had the answer key the whole time."

"How did I do?"

"In my book, you passed. That's one down 47,854 to go."

"You're not a soft cuddly stuffed animal, you know."

"I have claws."

**1500 Hours, several days later**

**The President's Office**

_**Colonial One**_

**Back in the Fleet.**

President Roslin was currently trying to pitch an idea to Commander Adama and Major Inviere -Adama

"We need to show the fleet who you are, who are the men and women who keep us safe. Most of them have just heard of your crew, they have no idea what you do, who you are."

"But her, Biers, seriously, she criticizes us at every move."

"Bill, the point is that she'll led us credibility."

"Who is this Biers any way?"

"D'anna Biers, fleet news service, a documentary maker before the attack, she now spends her time criticizing us. People, mostly don't like her, she tends to get into everyone's business, she's more of a gossip monger than a reporter."

"And you think she'll give a good piece?"

"A fair piece, Sarah, not a fluff one."

"Well then let's meet her."

"Good, she's on her way here."

"Typical, assume the results before it happens."

"Hey, I would have ordered you to do it, remember, you have final cut, Commander."

They sat laughing for a few minutes while waiting for her to show up. Eventually Biers arrived in a yellow shirt, she looked surprised to see them.

"Well, this is an honor Madam President, Commander I never thought you'd want to meet me."

Sarah was shocked, though she didn't show it, Biers was a Cylon, a Three, all their lives were in danger. She would have to play this very carefully. As discreetly as she could she unclasped her holster and took the safety off her sidearm.

"Well, Miss Biers, we were wondering if you would like to do a documentary on _Galactica_."

"I don't do fluff pieces."

"No, we want the truth an objective piece of truth."

Sarah decided to jump in here, "we just need to know if you can maintain an objective point of view even though the fact that you're a Cylon might present a conflict of interest."

Sarah waited for her words to sink in.

It didn't take that long. Biers elbowed one of the Presidential Security Agents in the stomach and drew out his pistol and spun to fire at Commander Adama.

She wasn't fast enough though, by the time she had gotten the pistol out, Sarah already had her sidearm out, aimed at Biers and put two in her chest, followed by one in her head.

Bill and Lara were shocked, eventually Bill recovered, "well that was interesting."

"We should leave, she knows our current position."

"Agreed, the Cylons could be here any moment."

Bill picked up the phone and called _Galactica_, "Dee, order the fleet to spin up their FTL drives and jump to emergency coordinates, we're going to have Cylons here any minute."

_"Copy that."_

Of course, then the Baseships hopped in, almost right on top of them.

"Frak."

"Indeed."

They missed the rest, because _Colonial One_ jumped away.

**1900 Hours**

**Pilot's Lounge**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Karl Agathon was not having a good day. The pilots all hated him. They hated Sharon and he didn't know why, he had only one friend, Starbuck. After trying to introduce himself to the pilots he left. But, the talk didn't leave with him. Starbuck kept defending him though.

"I don't get it how could anyone love a toaster?"

"Hmm, good question Duck, maybe you should ask Commander Adama, seeing as he's married to a Cylon."

"But, the Major, she's not a Cylon, she's with us, she always has been."

Racetrack decided to throw her two cents in, "but you can't forget what she is, she's a toaster, just like the rest of them, she might be nice now, but she could turn on us at any minute."

Starbuck got up and walked over to Racetrack, as she was about to punch her lights out she was interrupted, by the subject of the conversation.

"Stand down, Starbuck!"

Everyone turned to see Major Inviere-Adama in the door, with her arms crossed, looking angry, and a bit resigned. She turned to Racetrack, "Lieutenant Edmondson, my office, now!"

Their walk through the ship was silent, awkwardly silent, Racetrack at least had enough dignity to feel cowed by the Major. They reached her office and Sarah pointed to the therapy couch, which was moved back in yesterday, because Boomer was being released.

"Sit down, Margaret." Racetrack sat down and started to apologize.

"Major, I'm sorry for the remarks I made in there, they were uncalled for—"

"No, you were angry at the time, I should apologize to you Margaret, between me being shot, then counseling Sharon, Bill, going to Kobol, and getting another Sharon on my patient list, you sort of slipped through the cracks. You were with Sharon when she visited the baseship and then again when she shot me. Tell me what you're thinking. You've heard the report, like everyone else, Boomer wasn't responsible for her actions, no more than a missile you launch from your Raptor is responsible for its actions."

"I feel betrayed, used, like I don't know what to do anymore, I feel like I can never trust anyone again."

"Do you know where Sharon was earlier that day?"

"In sickbay, I remember talking to her, she had an accident with her firearm."

Sarah just looked at her and waited.

"Oh, gods, it wasn't an accident was it, she was trying to kill herself."

"When she went on that mission, she had every intention of blowing up that Baseship. Hell, she did blow up that baseship, the nuke still went off."

"But she told the Cylons where to find us."

"Actually, she didn't, you both did."

"What, how?"

"The Cylons would have only had one way of finding The Fleet's current position, tracking something to the Fleet. They used the IFF transponders you two brought along on your mission to track you back here."

"So that means…"

"I and Sharon discussed what happened, suffice it to say, it provided her definitive proof that she was a Cylon. It was the triggering mechanism for the program that shot that caused her to shoot the commander. However, it was a discussion in the vaguest terms, nothing specific was discussed."

"But still, if my partner was a Cylon, who can I trust."

"I don't know the answer to that. I only know the appearance of seven of the twelve Cylon models. They could be anyone; they might not even know that they are Cylons."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"First of all, you should have gotten counseling sooner, second of all, Boomer will be returning to active flight status this week, and I was hoping you would be her copilot."

"Why me, why not say, Helo?"

"Helo has enough problems right now, without dealing with having to work with the effective twin sister of his girlfriend. So, are you up for it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, dismissed Lieutenant."

Racetrack got up to leave before Sarah stopped her.

"Oh and thank you, by the way."

"For what, sir?"

"The second bullet, that Sharon fired; it would have gotten Bill in the head if you hadn't tackled her. You saved his life."

"And almost cost you yours."

"Nah, that one was not the worse of the two." (Truth be told it wasn't, the first one had punctured her lung The second one just went swimming around in her intestines, missing the vital organs.)

**0800 Hours, the next day**

**Firing Range**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Today was Lieutenant Sharon "Boomer" Valerii's first day back on the job, she was happy about it. She wanted to get back into the air. But she was not happy about what she had to do to get there. Her firearm requalification.

Since she almost killed her best friend, she had only discharged a weapon once, at said best friend when she thought she was going to kill her commander and her lover. Since then, she had become a complete pacifist, not even shooting back at centurions that were trying to kill her. Until about a week ago she had been in restraints or her cell, the whole time, of her own choice. Luckily, none of the crew had tried to get revenge on her for what happened to the Major. She probably wouldn't have tried to stop them, she might have welcomed it.

Truth be told, she felt she wasn't being punished enough for what she did. No one blamed her, they all said it was out of her control. But Sharon blamed herself, she wanted to punish herself, she just didn't know how. So she did the next best thing, she swore an oath to herself, that she would do her utmost best to protect Sarah and Commander Adama, that she would do anything they ever asked of her, and that she would lay down her life for theirs at any moment.

Sharon was worried about her firearm requalification. She wasn't worried about passing, for some reason she was absolutely sure she would. No, she was worried about what she would do with the gun once she had it. And to compound her problem, Commander Adama, the man she had tried to shoot little more than a month ago, would be doing his requalification at the same time.

The Commander had visibly noticed her nervousness, "don't worry about it Boomer, you'll pass fine. I remember how worried I was at my first qualification back at basic over fifty years ago. At the time, I set the range record. Now, with all these calcified bones and old people issues. I'm lucky if I pass."

Sharon snorted at his modesty; the commander still had the number four spot on the range record sheet. After Sarah, Starbuck and his son. Sharon remembered the day last week when Sarah took her requalification and beat Starbuck. Starbuck was still pissed and spent almost every day on the range trying to beat her record. When Starbuck asked Sarah how she did it, she replied, "sometimes it sucks to be human."

So, Sharon grabbed her sidearm, pointed it at the target and fired. When her clip was empty, she reloaded it and holstered it before Bill walked over to the wall and took a look at her target.

"Congratulations, Lieutenant, you pass, and you've tied the range record, hmm, must be a Cylon thing."

"Thank you, sir, I think.

They took down the target and replaced it, They walked back and Bill took out his sidearm, (which he never carries), aimed, and fired. When he was finished, he reloaded the gun, and holstered it, before walking back to the target.

"Not bad, sir, you passed with flying colors."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Now let's put these away and get to work." Boomer noticed that he was slurring his words a little.

"Are you okay, sir?"

"Just feeling a little light headed that's…" he collapsed on the floor.

"Commander!"

She knelt down next to him and noticed his lips were turning blue. Then she noticed that she was having trouble breathing. She walked over to the wall and saw that the atmospheric pressure in the room had dropped. She walked over to the door, a bit more unsteadily, and tried to open it, to no avail. She was trying to think of something to do, she had to save the commander, but she couldn't do that if she couldn't think. What to do?

She spotted a box of explosive rounds on a nearby table. She crawled over to it and pulled one out, before loading it into the chamber, aiming at the window in the door and firing.

BOOM! The door blew open and air came rushing in. Sharon took a deep breath, before rushing over to the commander. She checked, he had a pulse, and was breathing. Then he started coughing. After he was done he turned to Sharon.

"What happened?"

"We lost pressure, sir, I managed to fix the situation, but um, sort of had to blow out a door to do it."

Bill looked over at the now busted door and laughs.

"Doors are fixable, we're not."

**0900 Hours**

**Blackbird Construction Area**

**Hangar Bay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

After Doc Cottle had cleared her for duty (with him muttering the whole time about crazy environmental systems) she walked down to the Hanger Deck. She saw the Chief working on his plane on the day off. Sharon knew why he was doing it. He was trying to keep his mind off her. She knew she had to make some sort of gesture, he never would. She walked over to him.

"Need some help, Chief?"

His reaction was not what she was expecting. He jolted and banged his head on a support beam.

"Ow."

The Chief stood up and they sized each other up, the deck crew all stopped and watched.

"Sure, Lieutenant I could use your help with the hydraulic lines."

They both got under the plane and got to work. It was a small step, but a step nonetheless toward what they had before.

**1000 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah, Bill, Saul, and Felix were standing around the CIC command table trying to figure out why the ship was on the fritz.

"So let me get this straight, the environmental control system suddenly decided that there was too much air in the firing range and decided to bleed it out almost killing Boomer and me?"

"Yes, sir."

"The question now, is why."

"Felix and I have been looking over the code in the computer system this morning and we think we identified the problem?"

"You think?"

"I'm not positive, but I think it's a 'logic bomb.'"

"A Logic Bomb?"

"A learning computer virus designed to infiltrate our systems, find weaknesses. It's probably in every single system on the ship now."

"Frak."

"Indeed, Colonel."

"So how do we get rid of this virus?"

"The only way is to completely erase the computer core and replace it with our pre-war backups."

"How long does that take, Mr. Gaeta?"

"A while."

"And we'll be completely defenseless."

"Bingo."

"And the Cylons could just come in and destroy us."

"Bingo, again, Bill."

"So what do we do then?"

"Maybe our local expert in all things Cylon will have an idea."

Everyone looked at Sarah.

"I wasn't talking about me."

"I hate that man!"

"Not him either."

"You have got to be kidding."

"I trust her."

"I don't!"

"Like I said Bill, we really need to work on you transposing your anger, it wouldn't hurt to just talk to her."

"Fine. Do it."

Sarah walked down to the brig and opened the door. She walked in and sat down.

"Hello."

"We have a bit of a problem on our hands; you might be able to help us with it."

**1130 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**While the Cylons are waiting on the doorstep**

__Caprica-Sharon was hooked into the computer systems, when they all went offline. Bill, feeling that she had betrayed them, grabbed his sidearm and pointed it at Sharon.

"If they're coming for you they're going to be real disappointed."

"Bill, this is right, I think?"

"You think?"

"Actually I have no idea what we're waiting for. But you can't shoot her."

"Why not?"

"She's pregnant."

"With a Cylon/Human Hybrid, a freak, it doesn't count."

Bill knew he had gone too far, when he saw the look on her face.

Saul, of course never had a sense of tact, "What are you waiting for."

"This," Sharon replied.

The systems came online while the Cylons turned off.

As everyone else was celebrating Bill turned back to the guards.

"Guards, take her back to her cell."

He then turned around to try and find Sarah, but she was gone.

He raced down to their quarters, to find Sarah packing her bags.

"Sarah, dear, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, it's just been."

"Bill, stop, for the past month we've both been under a lot of pressure, hell for the last six month's we've been under a lot of pressure. Maybe we need a break."

"A break, wha-, what do you mean?"

"I'm going to _Cloud 9_ for a few days, with Sharon. You know, to get some girl time. I'd say for you to come along but I knew you couldn't take off."

"I'm sorry, is there any way I can fix this, I don't want you to leave."

"Bill, that's the only way to fix this. I need some time to myself, to think, you need some time to decompress and think as well. I'll see you in a few days." She kissed him on the cheek and headed to the hanger bay. She threw her stuff in a Raptor, took a seat next to Sharon and turned to her.

"Let's go, I really need a vacation."

AN: Please review! Thanks to those who have

Next chapter will cover Pegasus.


	13. The Beast Arrives

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar Galactica story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Pegasus"

AN: Between Flight of the Phoenix and Pegasus the infamous second season timeline discrepancy occurs. Apparently, the days between 91 and 175 (a total of 84 days) are unaccounted for. For expediency I am just erasing the timeline, therefore only two nights pass between Flight of the Phoenix and Pegasus.

Chapter 13

The Beast Arrives

**1015 Hours**

**Pool Deck**

_**Cloud 9 **_

**Day Three of Sarah and Sharon's Vacation.**

Sarah was having a blast. She was lying on a lounge chair on the pool deck, decked out in a bikini, finishing up some reading. She had several dozen books and published dissertations with her on _Galactica_ that she had never read (they were a combination of books for the, now, defunct museum and a collection given to her as a wedding present.) She had brought a couple with her to read on her trip.

Sharon was lying next to her, sleeping or almost sleeping, occasionally taking a sip of a mixed drink she had nearby.

"This is great, Sharon, I forgot what it felt like to be a woman."

"You're not the only one, Sarah, of course, you're not stuck in a sweaty flight suit everyday."

"The one think I don't miss about _Galactica_ is the smell and mold and musty feeling the whole ship has."

"Here's to artificial sun and clean air." Sharon raised her glass in a mock salute and downed it."

Sharon closed her book and quietly reflected on the situation she had been having with Bill. Honestly, she knew he didn't mean what he said, but he still managed to put his foot in his mouth rather nicely. They were both stressed out from their jobs, and their relationship was being strained because of it. That was compounded by the recent Cylon issues (AKA Two Sharons and a Baby.) Since Bill couldn't take a break, Sarah did.

Of course, said break was about to end.

The alert system on _Cloud Nine _was a little different from the system on_ Galactica_. Three loud dings came over the PA followed by a brief voice announcement, "Attention! Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now at Condition One, please prepare for emergency maneuvering and imminent FTL Jump. Thank you, and enjoy your stay aboard _Cloud Nine_."

Everyone just looked up shrugged and looked back at their book or kept tanning. Sara and Sharon threw on their Terry Cloth Robes and made their way to the Bridge. They got there about five minutes later.

"Sitrep."

"Hello, Major Inviere, apparently another Battlestar has stumbled upon the fleet." He looked down at his notes , "it's the _Pegasus,_ ma'am, under the command of an Admiral Helena Cain."

"Helena Cain, Cain, why does that name sound so familiar?" She looked down at her book, oh, that's why. The book was titled _The Battle of Tauron: a Command Perspective_ by Rear Admiral Helena Cain.

**1115 Hours**

**Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The Raptor taxied to a stop and Sarah stepped out, closely followed by Sharon. Chief Tyrol met them at the ramp.

"Major, how was your vacation?"

"Cut short, Chief, cut short. But nice all the same. Do you know where the Commander is?"

"Last I heard he was back in your quarters, sir, with the President and Admiral Cain."

"Ah, good, I wanted to meet her. Coincidently, I just finished her book. It was a good read."

"Yes, sir."

"Carry on, Chief."

Tyrrol nodded to both of them, "Sir, Lieutenant."

Sarah made her way through the hanger deck, her luggage rolling behind. She overheard several of the pilots talking and turned toward them. Then another pilot approached them and pulled Lieutenant Adama aside. They started talking, Sarah went over to them.

"You should start tracking your kills, Captain, it's good for morale."

"Morale isn't everything, Captain; the best thing for morale is staying alive, not keeping counts of kills. It can also demoralize pilots, make them envious, taking unnecessary risks, it's a bad philosophy."

Sarah nods to them and walks off, leaving a surprised Captain Taylor, and a smirking Captain Adama. Taylor recovers and turns to Lee.

"Well, it's Admiral Cain's philosophy, meaning its now your philosophy."

"The name of my Commander is Adama, it should be easy to remember because it's my name, and the name of our second officer and senior ranking pilot, who you just met."

Meanwhile, Sarah arrived in her quarters, through the entrance to her office. She dropped her suitcase on the bed and walked through to the living area that was made out of Bill's quarters; she heard Bill and Admiral Cain talking by the doorway.

"It gives me no pleasure to take command, Bill."

"Don't give it a moment's thought, Admiral."

Sarah decided to introduce herself, she stepped out into the hallway and joined them, she stuck out her hand.

"Admiral Cain, welcome aboard _Galactica_, I'm Major Sarah Inviere-Adama, Second Officer, Ship's Counselor, and Historian, among other things. I just finished reading your book on the Battle of Tauron. It was very good; I'd like to talk to you about it sometime. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to the CIC." Sarah nodded to each of them, "Admiral, Bill."

Sarah turned and left, leaving Bill and a thoroughly gob smacked Helena Cain in her wake. Admiral Cain turned to the Commander.

"Are you aware you have a Cylon as your second officer?"

"Yes, sir." That shocked Cain even more than seeing a twin of her ex-girlfriend.

"What? Seriously? You knew?"

"For a while now actually, Major Inviere-_Adama_ warned me, and attempted to warn Colonial Fleet Intelligence about the Attack, naturally the idiots didn't listen, she's been on our side since before day one, Admiral and has proven her loyalty time and again, she's one of the most resourceful members of my crew."

"But you trust a Cylon as an officer on your ship?"

"No, Admiral, I trust people. If those people happen to be a different species, then so what? I have a second officer and a pilot that are Cylons, they are respected by this crew, the fleet, the president, the Quorum, and myself. Neither of them, in anyway participated in the attacks on the colonies. The one Cylon who did is in our brig."

Cain was shocked and horrified that he would actually trust Cylons. Of course, she remembered that she once trusted a Cylon, Gi—, no stop that line of thought, she used and betrayed you, Helena. She needed to think.

"One last question, what's with the Adama?"

"Sarah's my wife; did I forget to mention that?"

**1300 Hours**

**Cylon Holding Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Pegasus**_

"Oh my, God, It's me," said Virtual-Six.

"No, it's not you, Its Major Adama. This is bad, this is very bad."

As the doctor examined Gina, he thought, "the Major's going to kill me when she hears about this."

**2200 Hours**

**Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Whistleblower Commission Meeting**

Bill started the secret roundtable meeting off, "okay, so what do we know about our new _friends_?"

"Well, I got drinking with Fisk, the _Pegasus_ XO today, he said some strange things. He told me that Admiral Cain shot her first XO for refusing to order a suicide attack. He tried to pass it off as a joke, but I think he was telling the truth."

Tyrol joined in next, "Laird, the _Pegasus_ deck chief, he's a civilian, he got drafted, didn't seem too happy about it."

"Well no one would be happy about getting drafted, Chief."

"No, not like that, more depressed."

Sarah noticed a flaw in everyone's thinking, "Where did he come from?"

"He didn't say, seemed fairly upset about it though."

Sarah pitched in her two cents, "also _Pegasus _is refusing to resupply the civilian fleet."

"Nothing strange about that, there just resupplying _Galactica_ first."

"No Bill, I don't mean that, I mean they are flat out refusing to resupply the civilians."

Felix decided to add in Baltar's report, "Dr. Baltar reported on the condition of their Cylon prisoner today over secure wireless."

"How bad was it?"

"Suffice it to say, it was bad, I think he was afraid about what the _Pegasus_ would do if they knew he sent us a message. I'll summarize his finding. The prisoner was a Model Six, but she didn't look like the average Six, according to Dr. Baltar she would be almost a twin of you, Major."

Bill turned to Sarah, "Gina?"

"Most likely, she was working at the Scorpia Fleet Shipyards, where the _Pegasus_ was before the attack. What was her condition, Felix?"

"He says her psychological state is almost comatose, she has several broken bones, her ribs, wrist, etc. He said that there were multiple contusions consistent with fists, feet, and belts. She was severely malnourished; she most likely hadn't eaten in months. He also said..." He paused, this was going to be hard to hear.

"Just say it Mr. Gaeta," Sarah knew what was coming.

"Right, He also said that she was the victim of severe sexual assault, by multiple attackers. He believed she was gang-raped by the crew several times for indeterminable periods. He said that he will do what he can for her, he'll try to convince Cain to treat her better."

"Options?"

"War crimes, it wasn't clear with the first few, but the Major's sister is proof, Cain and her crew have committed war crimes," Saul concluded.

"I see several violations of the Caprica Articles of War Regarding the Treatment of Prisoners and Civilians and murder," Lee added.

"Um, forgive me for playing devil's advocate here, but the Cylons were not considered under the articles," Kara decided to speak up.

"When they were written, they were talking about toasters, not humanoid versions. Also, since the Major's rights as a person have been affirmed by the Quorum, it therefore grandfathers in the entire Cylon race. Besides, even if we remove the Major's sister from the equation we still have enough to convict them," Lt. Gaeta added his perspective.

Bill summed up what everyone was thinking, "There is something seriously wrong with that crew. We need to keep our eyes open, the Fleet's counting on us. We will wait until the time is right to make our move."

**2330 Hours**

**Adama Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Both of the Adamas were reclining in bed reading, Sarah was rereading Cain's book, while Bill was doing paperwork. Eventually Sarah got fed up and put her book down.

"Bill, we have to talk."

"About what, dear?"

"About what happened a few days ago."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry about what I said; I don't know why I said it. For some reason I just can't get past my anger toward the prisoner."

"That's your problem, right there, you're thinking of her as a prisoner, not an individual. Just give her a chance, trust her, I don't hold her responsible for what happened to me, neither should you."

"It's not that. It's just that she is such a convenient outlet for all my anger toward the Cylons, she worked with them, she was one of them; you, and Sharon, never were."

Sarah spoke very quietly, "what hurt me the most Bill was your comment about the baby."

"I know, I'm sorry about that."

"That baby could be ours one day Bill, and I don't want it to be a freak."

"It won't be, and her baby isn't either, I promise you."

**1000 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The day was going fairly well, until Dee reported a Raptor on approach.

"Commander, there's a Raptor on approach, apparently the _Pegasus_ Cylon Interrogator, a Lieutenant Thorne is on board. They say that the Admiral has ordered him to look at our prisoner."

Bill and Sarah quietly swore, they needed a plan, or something really bad was going to happen to Caprica-Sharon.

Sarah decided she needed to meet this man, "I'll escort him. I want to meet this man."

"Are you sure Sarah, it could be dangerous?"

"I'll be fine, I'm a major, he's just a lowly lieutenant, what can he do to me?"

"Um, I can think of a million things."

"Bill, I'll be fine."

"At least take a MarDet with you."

"No, that would be too suspicious. Besides, if anything happens to me, we can make our move."

Bill sighed, "agreed. Dismissed, Major."

Sarah saluted and headed off to the hanger deck, where she met the _Pegasus_ Raptor. It opened up and out stepped a arrogant Lieutenant Thorne and his two marines. Thorne didn't look shocked to see her, nor did he salute her, or show her any kind of respect. That pissed Sarah off, she didn't mind it when

"Take me to your prisoner."

"Sir."

"What, I said take me to your prisoner, what sort of question could you have?"

"None, _Lieutenant_, the phrase you are looking for is 'take me to your prisoner please, sir.'"

"I have orders from Admiral Cain to see your Cylon Prisoner, now take me to it."

Sarah groaned, "oh, fine, be that way, _she's_ right this way, follow me."

So, Sarah led him through the halls to the Cylon Cell, she was greeted by the crew warmly along the way, she smiled and nodded to each of them. The crew then shot strange, suspicious, curious or downright nasty looks at Thorne. This just infuriated Thorne more, 'how dare this crew respect that thing more than me!'

**The Same Time**

**Still Room**

**Off the Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Meanwhile, the Pegasus and Galactica deck crews were having an amicable party. Until of course they started mentioning the issues of Cylon interrogation,

"Do you remember when Thorne put that 'Please Disturb' sign on the door?"

"Yeah, I got in line twice."

"Oh, yeah, I remember she was just lying there, with that blank look on her face."

"Do you mind?" Cally was particularly sensitive about the discussion of rape, because of what happened on the _Astral Queen_ a few months ago, though she was grateful to Major Adama for helping her get through it, it still hurt to hear about it.

"Think he'll give us a chance at her?"

"Nah, I heard him say he had to break her in first, that pretty Major too."

Helo was furious, "Who the hell is this Thorne?"

"Lieutenant Thorne, sir, Cylon interrogator, rides them hard and keeps them talking, _yee-haw_."

Helo lunges at gage, but Tyrol stops him, "no, we have to go, Sharon and the Major are in danger, come on."

**Cylon Holding Cell**

Sarah opens the door and steps in, followed by Thorne and two marines.

"Sharon, this is—urgh"

Sarah doesn't see Thorne take out his pistol and bash it against her temple, she falls unconscious instantly.

Thorne looks down at her with an evil sort of smirk, "I'll deal with you later." He looks up at Sharon, "now, as for you, what is the purpose of this vessel?"

Sharon is terrified.

**Causeway**

Helo and the Chief are running through the ship, everyone is jumping out of the way. They see Boomer walking toward the flight deck, and stop.

"Boomer, come on, the major's in danger."

"Oh frak." Sharon draws her sidearm and runs with them.

About a hundred feet from the cell they see Venner and Harder on a patrol of the ship.

"Venner, Harder, on us, there's a situation in the brig."

"Yes, Sir!"

They race to the door, and what they see shocks them. One of the marines is holding Caprica-Sharon's arms down while Thorne is apparently raping her. The Major is on the ground, clearly knocked out, while the second marine is tearing her clothes off.

Helo and Boomer rush forward followed closely by the rest of the group. Helo flips Thorne off Sharon and to the ground, before drawing his sidearm and pointing it at Thorne's head. Boomer kicks the second marine in the face, dazing him while she knocks his rifle out of his hands. He's about to go for his sidearm before he see's Sharon's already pointed at his head.

"Don't move, bastard."

Venner moves in and knocks the second marine on the ground before pointing his gun at him.

Harder covers Thorne, while calling into her radio for a medical team.

Helo turns to comfort Sharon, holding and rocking her while whispering quietly in her ear.

Tyrol comes in and covers the first marine so that Sharon can tend to the major.

Harder pulls Thorne up, throws him against the glass and cuffs him. "Lieutenant Thorne, you are under arrest for rape of a prisoner during a time of war, and assaulting a superior officer." She then read him his rights. Venner was doing the same with the second marine, charging him with being an accomplice. He tosses that marine's pair of cuffs to Tyrol who promptly cuffs the first marine charging him with "assault and attempted rape of a superior officer."

The Medical teams arrive and escort Caprica-Sharon and take Sarah to Sickbay.

**1100 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Sharon!" Sarah awoke with a start, something she quickly wished she didn't do, because she had a pounding headache.

"Ah, Sarah, you're awake. Now, try not to move, you took a pretty bad blow to the head, missy." Damn Doc Cottle's bedside manor.

"Sharon?"

"Is fine, more or less, she has a cracked rib and a few other minor injuries, but she will have to see you in a professional capacity."

"What happened?"

"Thorne knocked you out and proceeded to rape Caprica-Sharon, another of the marines was helping him, while the third was in the process of attempting to rape you. Then a number of people came in, knocked the bastards to the ground and arrested them."

"Did, did he actually manage to…?"

"No, he didn't get a chance. Right now the three of them are cooling their heels in _Galactica's_ Brig. Your husband is outright furious, he asked me to make sure you meet him on the bridge when you can, which I guess would be um, now. Just take it slow for the rest of the day. And let me know if you start feeling dizzy or sleepy."

"Thanks, Sherman."

**The Same Time**

**Cylon Holding Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Pegasus**_

Gaius Baltar brought some bread, water, and apple to Gina. He handed them to her and thought about what to say.

"Your sister, Sarah, she's alive, you know."

A glimmer of recognition passed through Gina's eyes.

"She's doing quite well actually, second officer of the _Galactica_, and married to Commander Adama. She's worried about you. I know you don't want to trust me. Let me tell you why you should…"

**1105 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah arrived on the CIC and saw Bill on the phone. He smiled and signaled her to pick up the extension.

"I want my people back, Commander; they will be tried here on Pegasus."

"No, they won't, Lieutenant Thorne has implicated that you ordered him to attack my prisoner. You're already under suspicion for your previous actions, Admiral, there is no way you are trying any of your men. Besides, Lieutenant Thorne will get a trial by the Quorum and President."

"What? Why?"

"He's been charged with violating the Caprica Articles of War Regarding the Treatment of Prisoners; he will get a full war crimes tribunal."

"Cylons are not prisoners, their machines."

"Well then why did you torture them, why does that work, hmm. Since the Articles were written and the attacks happened, we've had to alter our definition of what is real and what isn't."

Sarah knew this was going south fast, she signaled to Lieutenant Gaeta to go to Action Stations.

"Commander," Dee caught his attention and pointed to the DRADIS screen.

"Admiral, why are you launching Vipers?"

"Please have the prisoners ready to turn over to my marines as soon as the raptor arrives."

Click.

"Frak, Dee, launch the alert fighters and order the fleet to get to a safe distance, do not jump. Mr. Gaeta, target the main battery on _Pegasus_ and prepare to fire."

Sarah got an idea, "Dee, get the Raptors in the air too, have them spread out at equal distances behind our Vipers and await further instructions."

"Major?"

"I have an idea."

AN: Please Review, thanks to those who have.

The Caprica Articles of War are my own invention. They are based off the Geneva Convention. I'm relatively sure what Cain in "Razor" was illegal.


	14. Into the Lion's Den

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Resurrection Ship Part I"

Chapter 14

Into the Lion's Den

**1106 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**During the Standoff with **_**Pegasus**_

"Dee, order the fleet to douse their exterior lights. Mr. Gaeta, do the same for _Galactica_. Then get me Kat."

Sarah picked up the phone, "Kat, this is Blondie. Listen to me very carefully, have the air wing turn off its running lights, cockpit lights, helmet lights, etc. In a few moments I'm going to jam the _Pegasus_'s Air Wing's DRADIS. They will be flying blind, your job is simple, get behind them and don't get hit."

"Understood, Blondie, Kat out."

"All Raptors, this is _Galactica_, start jamming."

The Mark VI Vipers were, as Sarah had discovered almost a year ago, when the Mark IIs were delivered to _Galactica_, susceptible to certain kinds of jamming. It was never a useful thing in Colonial combat tactics because it would just make everyone fly blind. However, if you were the _Galactica_ and had a whole squadron of Mark II Vipers that were immune to such jamming, well…

"Sarah, what did you do?"

"_Pegasus_'s Air Wing is out there flying blind, while we can see as clear as day."

"_Galactica_, Kat, we're in position, got them in the kill slot."

"Good. Hmm, I wonder if Cain will blink now."

"She didn't blink in front of a bunch of Cylons that outnumbered her three to one."

"Keyword there, Cylons, will she be willing to start shooting at humans?"

Dee spoke up, "sir, Admiral Cain is on the line."

Bill picked up the phone, "Admiral."

"Commander this is your last chance, surrender or we will open fire."

Sarah meanwhile had called Kat again, "Kat, get ready to stick to those frakkers like glue."

"Copy that, Blondie."

"I don't think you realize your position Admiral, look at your Dradis screen."

"I don't see anything, somehow you're jamming the whole thing."

"Just as my Raptors are jamming your pilots, interesting thing about our electronics warfare package, it can jam the hell out of a Mercury-Class Battlestar. You see, this is why I like the classics," He turned to Lt. Gaeta, "turn off the jamming."

What Helena Cain saw next almost gave her a heart attack. _Galactica_ was directly below her, with its main batteries pointed at _Pegasus_, daringly inside whatever sort of firing solution she could put up. _Galactica_'s Air Wing had hers in their kill slots, oh then there was that loud noise.

"Radiological Alarm!" _Galactica_ had armed its nukes.

"Adama you frakker, what did you do!"

"Out maneuvered you, out played you, oh and put you over a very big barrel. Don't try to play hardball with me, Helena, you'll always loose. Look at your DRADIS. Your pilots can't shake mine, we don't count our kills here for the simple reason that we don't have to. Now, either you can stand down, or we can start shooting at you. It's your call."

Cain turned to Fisk; she saw the same fear in his eyes that she had in hers. He was afraid that she would order an attack, one which they would most certainly loose. She had to get out of this.

"We still have the Cylon, which you care about so much, would you really kill her?"

Back on _Galactica_, Bill and Sarah smirked, they had her now.

Sarah answered, "ah, that is the beauty of Cylon Resurrection, Admiral. Might be a good thing too, seeing what you did with her body, she could certainly use a new one."

"We have Doctor Baltar!"

Bill took this one, "he's been nothing but a pain in my ass. You have no chips left Admiral, it's time to fold."

Cain was getting desperate, "our supplies, you need our supplies."

"No we don't. We got along better without you than with you."

"Grrr! Fine, recall the Vipers, then Commander you will present yourself on my ship immediately."

"I have no intention of cooling my heels in your brig, Admiral."

Neutral Territory then, Colonial One, one hour, no aides."

"One hour."

Back on _Galactica_ Bill recalled the vipers and got ready to go.

**1200 Hours**

**President's Office**

**Colonial One**

Suffice it to say, Helena Cain was pissed. First, her men get arrested, in what she sees as a valid performance of their duties. Then, Adama refuses an order to hand them over to her. Then he had the audacity to attempt to engage her in combat.

Of course, it might just be the fact that Adama beat her.

Helena sighed, when had she started getting like this, when had she started down this slippery slope.

Oh, right, Jergen.

This all started when she shot her XO, her best friend, for little reason other than offering an opinion. She still had no idea why she did it. But now she couldn't go back.

She walked into the President's office and saw Roslin behind her desk and Adama was in a chair on her right.

"I want my men back on _Pegasus_."

This significantly angered Adama. Bill was usually a calm sort of person, but when he got angry, he got really angry.

"I don't give a damn about what you want. You're frakkin' lucky you're not staring at your own warrant!"

"And you're lucky you aren't staring at yours for undermining my command! Me staring at a warrant, oh please! For what?"

"Your Command?! Really, Helena, you don't have a Command, you have two battlestars, one of which is under my command, you didn't earn those ranks, you're just a well connected little girl."

"Little girl? Why I oughta—"

"ENOUGH!" Now it was Laura Roslin's turn to be angry. "Both of you are acting like children! Commander, the actions you took were heavy handed and inappropriate." Bill looked properly chastised, although Laura had just said that too keep up the air of impartiality.

"And you, Admiral! You are truly lucky you aren't staring at your own warrant!"

"Why?"

"For multiple violations of the Caprica Articles of War regarding the treatment of Prisoners and Civilians, oh, and murder."

"Are you serious, is this what you've been doing the last six months, debating the finer points of Colonial Law? We're at war!"

"They are called the Caprica Articles of _War_ for a reason, Admiral. Not only did you give, at the least, tactic approval of the rape and torture of a prisoner, you also ordered involuntary selection of civilians, without proper civilian oversight, illegal seizure of items necessary for the survival of said civilians, and your officers executed civilians without cause. Previous to all that you also murdered your XO when he was just doing his job! Shall I go on?"

"Your men have been charged with the following, one of the sergeants has been charged with being an accomplice of rape. Another is charged with assault of and attempted rape of a superior officer. Lieutenant Alastair Thorne has been charged with _multiple _violations of the Caprica Articles of War, with the rape of two prisoners, and assault on a superior officer. Suffice it to say, you and your men are in a lot of hot water."

"Rape, seriously? You can't rape a machine."

"The Quorum of the Twelve has officially determined that the Humanoid Cylons are indeed sentient beings. When you ordered Thorne to interrogate Ms. Inviere you even suggested to play off psychology, thus determining yourself that she is not a machine, because machines don't have feelings, Admiral."

"We've decided to send a tribunal to investigate these claims and make a recommendation to the Quorum on whether to press charges against you and your crew or not. It would be in your best interest to cooperate. Understood?"

Cain sighed, she didn't want to do this, but she really had no choice in the matter, besides, it might answer some questions of her own, "Yes, Madam President. Who is being sent?"

"One civilian and two officers, one from the Fleet Reserve. Mr. Billy Keikeya is my aide, he also has a law degree from Caprica University. Captain Leland Adama is from the Fleet Reserve and has some legal training. Major Sarah Inviere-Adama is being sent because she is our top psychological and Cylon expert."

\"Isn't the last, a little, prejudiced."

Bill laughed, "Admiral, the Major will bend over backwards to make sure that you are treated fairly, trust me, I know."

"I'm not sure I can guarantee her safety." Cain could use this as an opportunity to kill the Cylon, and the investigation, and get away with it.

"You better, because otherwise you'll lose your command anyway and it won't be because of a tribunal, more along the lines of a nuke."

**1330 Hours**

**Two Raptors**

**The Fleet**

**En route to **_**Pegasus**_

The two raptors were piloted by Helo and Boomer respectively. Combined they carried 13 marines lead by Sergeant Harder and Corporal Venner, and the Tribunal, all of whom were armed. Sarah had two sidearms strapped to her thighs, with extra clips of ammunition, same as Lee. Billy had been training with a gun extensively after the Cylons boarded _Galactica_ (it was determined that he was in the best position to protect the President, since he followed her everywhere.) He had a gun in a shoulder holster under his jacket. The marines would be under the command of Lt. Valerii, who would be staying to direct security for the tribunal. (After the assault on Sarah in the Brig, Sharon had gone back to not letting Sarah out of her sight.)

The two Raptors landed without incident. The one with eight marines landed first to secure the flight deck, followed by the second one, with the tribunal. They were greeted by the XO, Lieutenant Colonel Jack Fisk, and Senior Watch Officer Lieutenant Louis Hoshi

"Hello, and welcome to the Battlestar _Pegasus_. We have assigned you quarters in the VIP section, if you would follow Lieutenant Hoshi, please."

They all left and went to their quarters, which they entered and Colonel Fisk asked them what they wanted to do first. He was expecting that they would want to start with the Cylon prisoner, seeing that her "sister" is on the tribunal and all. He was surprised.

"We'd like to start with examining the _Pegasus_'s logs from the Attack to now. Also if you could show me to Lieutenant Thorne's office?"

"Very good, I'll have them sent to you directly. Major, if you'll follow me."

Sarah left with Fisk, being escorted by a few marines. They arrived at his office and Sarah entered, thanking the Colonel for his time. She shut the door behind him, leaving her alone in the room. She quickly found the binder where Thorne had reports on Gina. They were very detailed and informal, giving Thorne's personal point of view on the situation.

What she saw disturbed him, this man was clearly a sadist, psychopath, rapist, and nutcase. In other words, the scourge of the human race. He wrote about how much he enjoyed torturing Gina, sometimes asking no questions, he loved playing with her, breaking her. Sarah had her smoking gun behind Thorne. His journal as it were, signed his own death warrant. Although, it has another advantage. Thorne kept detailed record on who participated in his, "parties." The witness/suspect list just got dropped in her lap. She quickly left and returned to the tribunal's quarters.

"How did it go, Sarah?"

"Well, we've got Thorne, hook, line, and sinker. The bastard kept such detailed records on his 'interrogations' that he just signed his own death warrant. He also kept record on who else participated in the rapes, so we know who to go after."

"Who should we start with?"

"I recommend Lieutenant Hoshi."

"Are you sure that's the right list, Major? He doesn't really seem the type to rape someone."

"No, he's not on the list; I just think that he might be the most honest person left in this hell-hole."

After they started, the investigation went quickly. Lieutenant Hoshi was very helpful, giving his observations and testimony on the events concerning the Belzen killings and Cain's reaction to Gina's 'unveiling.'

The crew was helpful, to say the least. Or just stupid. They boasted like crazy about what they had done, about raping Gina, or killing civilians. Kendra Shaw actually seemed to think it was completely appropriate to kill Peter Laird's wife.

But that wasn't the most disgusting, heart wrenching part of the investigation.

No, that dubious honor was reserved for meeting Gina.

**1600 Hours**

**Cylon Holding Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Pegasus**_

When Sarah first saw her sister, she was overwhelmed. Gina was in terrible shape. She was underfed, bruised, dehydrated, and the list goes on and on. Sarah felt many things. Anger at the people who had done this to her. Guilt, that her sister had suffered and she hadn't. Sorrow, akin to that of a beaten puppy. Horror, at the fact that that could be her.

She had enough, Sarah turned to the guard (who had raped Gina at least three times) and ordered him to open the cell. The guard looked at her stupidly. Sarah sighed and decided to take a play out of Helena Cain's handbook. With inhuman speed she drew her gun and pointed it at the guard's head, ordering him to open the door.

He quickly complied. She took his keys and sent him off.

Then she turned to Gina and unlocked her restraints.

What happen next surprised her.

Gina jumped up, tacked Sarah, and started to strangle her.

Sarah calmly pulled Gina's hands off her neck and tried to calm her down.

"Gina, Gina, It's me, It's Sarah, remember, your sister, from Gemenon."

"Sarah?"

Gina let go and scrambled to the other wall. Before curling into a ball.

"I want to die. I want to die. Will you kill me?"

Sarah felt more pity than she had in her entire life.

She crawled over to Gina an sat next to her, before quietly taking her into her arms

"Oh, Gina, shhhh. Everything's going to be okay now, I'm here, shhhh."

Sarah had no idea how long she sat there, but she knew it was not enough.

By the end of the first day they had more than enough evidence. Thorne would hang (or be airlocked.) About 200 of the crew would be penalized severely or just drummed out of the service. Most importantly they could arrest Helena Cain.

Only one thing remained

Interviewing Helena Cain, herself.

Sarah was looking forward to that.

AN: Please Review, Thanks to those who have

Next chapter will bring many showdowns, the Resurrection Ship battle, the Cain-Sarah showdown, Sarah get knocked around, and Cain dies


	15. The Life and Death of Helena Cain

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Resurrection Ship Part II"

Chapter 15

The Life and Death of Helena Cain

**1800 Hours**

**Admiral Cain's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Pegasus**_

Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Once again, an awkward silence filled one of Sarah's counseling sessions. She wanted to find out what made Cain tick, why she did what she did, why did she make all the wrong choices?

"So, Admiral, let's start with the death of your second officer Colonel Jurgen Belzen, you were close friends with him, weren't you?"

"We've worked together a long time, we were good friends," Cain admitted, she had decided the best thing to do was cooperate, admittedly this fleet had no power over her, except that which she gave them. But she didn't want to alienate the last of humanity, not yet.

"Why did you shoot him then?"

"He refused to follow my orders."

"You have to admit the orders you gave were fairly stupid. You lost a hundred members of your crew that day."

"I couldn't show weakness, I had already lost so many crewmembers, the ship was hanging by a thread. He was inciting a mutiny."

"He was doing his _job_. He is supposed to advise you, act as a conscience, a fall back. Instead you shoot him!"

"I didn't have a choice, if I had arrested him, then everything would have fell apart."

"Why?"

"Because he was right and I knew it! If I had backed down then the crew would have seen me as weak, they would have lost faith, and if that happened, we were done for."

"No, Admiral, they would have seen you as sensible, confident, doing a good job, putting your crew first. They would have respected you." Sarah paused a moment before asking _the_ question, "do you regret it?"

"Every frakkin' day."

"Let's move on to the _Scyllia_. Why did you take their supplies?"

"We needed them, military needs came first."

"You took an oath to preserve protect and defend the colonies. The colonies were gone; you abandoned humanity when it needed you the most? Why didn't you take them with you, get them out of the combat zone?"

"It would not help for combat operations."

"You were one ship against everyone? Why keep fighting, the war was over, the Colonies lost?"

"Isn't that what you would want? You as a Cylon, wouldn't you want that? For the Colonies to loose?"

"Listen to me very carefully, Admiral. I do not work for, associate with, contact, assist, conspire with, or otherwise help the Cylons. Physically, I may be a Cylon, but first and foremost I am a Colonial Officer and a Wife. Now let's get back to the _Scyllia_. Why did you kill the families?"

"Because the selectees refused to comply."

"What gave you the right to force them to work for you?"

"As a detached flag officer during a time of war I have the right to draft forces into my command if I deem it necessary."

"You might have missed the section where it says you can do so only with appropriate civilian oversight, and I'm relatively sure it doesn't say you can shoot their families if they resist."

"I didn't have a choice."

"We always have a choice, Admiral, did you think of asking for volunteers or appealing to their patriotism, or taking the families with you?"

Cain sighed, "no, it wouldn't have worked."

"Ah, but we can't be sure of that can we? Let's talk about Gina."

"That Cylon is a traitor, it killed a hundred of my men, what's there to talk about."

"Well lets first discuss your use of the pronoun 'it' shall we. Cylons are male and female, he and she, not 'it.'"

"A machine can't have a gender."

"Really, most basic example: everyone calls _Galactica_ an 'old girl' it's a machine, yet they refer to it as a female, does that make it a female."

"No."

"Exactly, so calling something neuter does not make it neuter. Cylons do have sex; they have relationships, sexual preferences, everything that gives humans gender. Occasionally they have relationships with each other, incestuous bastards."

"It is an enemy, I have the right to interrogate her."

"Interrogate her? Yes you do. Torture and rape her? Yeah, that's a no. Tell me, Admiral, did you get anything out of Gina? Were you thinking about the human race when it came to the _Scyllia_? Were you even thinking when you shot your XO? Or were you so blinded by your own personal quest for revenge!?" Sarah took a deep breath before continuing, "I think that's enough for today, Admiral, we'll pick this up another time. Think about what I've said."

Sarah turned and left, leaving Cain alone in her quarters. Helena didn't move to follow her; she just sat and thought, really thought, about her actions for the first time in six months.

**1930 Hours**

**Somewhere near the port flight pod**

**Battlestar **_**Pegasus**_

**During Sarah Inviere-Adama's run**

The sound of her feet pounding on the deck was comforting to Sarah. After the shooting she had to do hours of physical therapy (as opposed to months like a human would) and got better. But Cylons don't keep their naturally firm figures by doing nothing (well, they do, but Sarah felt that she was better off doing exercise, though there wasn't much evidence to prove it.) So she was doing her evening run through a ship, observing people, watching them go by, lost in her own mind. She was especially thinking about Admiral Cain. Sarah hoped she had gotten through to her.

She was so busy in her own mind that she didn't notice someone come up behind her and knock her over the head, again.

When she came to she opened her eyes to two smirking _Pegasus_ crew members, Specialists Vireem and Gage her rather bleary mind told her. He gave her a rather evil smile. She discovered that they had stripped her out of her running suit so she was only in her underwear.

"Hello, _Major_."

"Specialists."

"Now, what to do with you. You see, we here on Pegasus really like Lieutenant Thorne, he saved our lives, gave us a bit of fun, you know."

"What we really don't like are toasters like you."

"So we're going to teach you a little lesson, and we're going to make sure we don't leave any evidence. Because who would believe a toaster like you over a good human like me?"

Sarah knew that to a tiny degree they were right, but were wrong to a larger degree, she had to antagonize them, get rid of that tiny degree, "oh hmm let's see there's Commander Adama the Quorum of the Twelve, the President of the Colonies, oh and the entire frakkin' crew of _Galactica_, just to name a few."

Gage glared at her and fumed, "Why you little—," he moved to punch her, but was stopped by Vireem. "Remember Gage, no marks." Vireem picked up a sock, with a lump in it. "Thorne taught us how to beat someone, or _something_ up and how not to leave any discernable markings. Take this for instance. Soap in a sock, painful, very painful, but doesn't leave an real markings." He grabbed the soap and swung it like a whip. It impacted Sarah in her upper stomach. Sarah didn't react, except for exhaling a little, but it hurt, a lot.

Gage was next, "And then if you just simply knee them, or use an elbow, you get a nice bruise, that could have, frankly been left by anything. Gage demonstrated this by kneeing her in the groin. That was pain that Sarah could not ignore.

"Ooowwww!"

"See, don't you wish your creators had given you the ability to turn your pain off?

As a matter of fact, Sarah did, if she ever found who designed these humanoid Cylons, she would kick their ass for forgetting that option.

They continued beating her in various ways for about another two or three minutes, and actually Sarah did start bruising, contrary to what the idiots might have thought. However they were interrupted by an unlikely person, Colonel Fisk.

"Attention on Deck! Gage, Vireem, out here now, standing tall!" He turned to the marine escort who had gone searching for Sarah after she disappeared, "release Major Inviere-Adama." He turned back to the two frackwits, "Gage let me ask you something Is the Major wearing a Colonial Uniform?"

"Actually, sir, I don't think it's wearing much of anything at the moment."

Fisk backhanded Gage sending him to the deck, "Fine, I'll rephrase, Does she normally wear a Colonial Uniform?"

"Yes, sir."

"Specialist Vireem, do you agree with Specialist Gage?"

"Yes, sir, but she's the reason Lieutenant—."

"Shut your frakkin' mouth! You see, I don't quite understand what I just saw because I think I saw you two knuckledraggers treating those that woman like a Cylon, which, of course, couldn't be right because if, in fact, that was the case, then you're both subject to charges of assaulting a Major under color of authority in a time of war. Which, if I'm not mistaken, carries a penalty on this ship that is quite severe. Not only that but she is the chief of the tribunal investigating the _Pegasus_ and can make life quite difficult for you, pretty much just airlock you with a single order. Now get out!"

"Sir."

Fisk turned to Sarah, "Are you okay?"

"No, but I will be, thanks."

"I don't want your thanks; I owe Lieutenant Thorne my life, as do many people on this ship."

"He violated the Articles of War, he raped two prisoners, knocked me out."

"Ah, but are the Cylons protected by the Articles?"

"We'll see."

Fisk returned to the CIC where Admiral Cain was waiting for him.

"What happened, Jack?"

"Gage and Vireem had been beating the crap out of Major Adama, I had to step in and stop them."

"Where was her marine detachment?"

"She left them at the VIP quarters when she went running, Incidentally, their Lieutenant Valerii is pissed as hell at her for running off again."

"What did you do to Gage and Vireem?"

"Gave them a dressing down and kicked them out."

"That's it?"

"I wasn't really sure what a suitable punishment for them would be for them attacking a Colonial officer, who's a Cylon who just happens to be the twin of a woman Thorne authorized them to rape a few months ago."

"I'll tell you what a suitable punishment is," she picked up the phone, "This is Admiral Cain, have a mardet capture Specialists Gage and Vireem and escort them out the nearest airlock…no wait, belay that, escort them to the brig." She hung up the phone and found Fisk staring at her in surprise.

"No, Jack, I'm not getting soft, I've just had someone talk to me about my previous actions and I realized I might have been a little heavy-handed in the past."

Jack just nodded and they got back to preparing for the attack.

**0820 Hours, The Next Day**

**Cylon Holding Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Pegasus**_

**Morning of the Battle of the Resurrection Ship**

"So, Doctor, do you understand?

"Yes, Major, I'm to make sure that the Cylon," glare, "um, Gina remains in her cell and doesn't try to kill herself, because you'll be helping her with her issues later."

"Bingo

Sarah left and went to the CIC for the attack. She arrived just as the ship was jumping. From her perspective, the battle started off fine. While the loss of the Blackbird was unexpected and unfortunate, it was not that serious of an issue, especially considering that Lee was fine. No, the battle started to turn south when the Cylon reinforcements arrived after they blew up the Resurrection Ship.

"Admiral, three more Baseships just jumped into the system."

"Frak." Sarah knew that Cain was thinking about getting into a fight with them, a fight they _might _win with heavy casualties. So, she did the only thing she could, she had to snap Cain out of her tunnel vision vengeance streak.

"Admiral, Admiral," Sarah sighed, "Helena!"

That snapped Helena out of her thoughts; she glared at Sarah for ruining her decorum.

"It's time to go."

Cain nodded and turned to Lieutenant Hoshi, "emergency recall on Vipers, combat landings authorized, order _Galactica_ to jump away as soon as their air wing is on board."

"Yes, Sir."

"Tactical, spin up the FTL drive, and input the rendezvous coordinates."

"Yes, sir," there was a pause, something was wrong, "Admiral, the computer isn't accepting the jump coordinates."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the drive is spun up, but it won't accept the coordinates, it says there is a connection error to the FTL drive."

"Switch to secondary."

"Already tried."

"Damn, are there any DC teams near the FTL?"

"No, sir, they're all busy elsewhere."

"Frak," Cain turned to Sarah, "Major, you have experience with the operations of a FTL drive, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then you're with me, Colonel, you have the deck."

"Yes, sir."

Cain and Sarah ran off to the FTL drive. Sarah wondered, why Cain would take charge of the repairs herself, when she remembered what Bill meant by "well connected." Cain's family owned the largest FTL propulsion and design company in the Colonies. Cain probably knew more about this drive than her chief engineer, seeing that she probably designed the thing.

When they arrived, it was immediately clear why the FTL drive wasn't responding. A rather large piece of bulkhead crashed through the lines connecting the navigation computer to the FTL drive. They both took a quick look at the damage.

"Damn, that'll take hours to fix."

Helena looked up at Sarah, "we don't have hours." Cain then glanced over to the left. Amazingly the computer hookup was still working. Cain went over to it and activated her radio to the CIC.

"CIC, Cain, all stop on the engines, give me our current position, then the rendezvous coordinates."

Sarah went over to her, "what are you doing?"

"Inputting the coordinates manually."

When the Major and Admiral Cain had entered the FTL Drive, Sarah felt that one of them wasn't going to come out alive. Now, she knew. You could directly input the FTL coordinates into the drive, but there was a problem. The drive had to be activated at the manual override. You had to be inside the drive room when it engaged. That would kill you.

"CIC, Cain, come in."

"Go ahead, Admiral."

"As soon as the FTL Drive is online I going to jump the ship."

"But, Admiral-"

"Did you not hear me, Colonel?"

A sigh, "yes, sir."

Sarah turned to the Admiral, "You should get out of here sir, I'll input the coordinates."

"No, get out of here Major, that's an order!"

"But, you're more important, the Fleet needs you."

Helena turned off the headset.

"No, I'm not, you are, you're respected, not feared, you're loved, you're a model for others to aspire to you."

"So are you."

"No, I'm a bitter woman who's messed up too many times in her life. I ruin everything good in my life, Gina, this crew, Humanity. I'll end up destroying this fleet too."

"But you'll die."

"And you won't? You know what would happen if you resurrect, destruction of said Resurrection Ship notwithstanding."

Sharon had told her what kind of 'homecoming' to expect, "True, but still."

"Major, when you came on board you were going to arrest me after the battle, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"My trial will tear this Fleet, this Service, and this Ship apart. At least, in my death we can avoid all that."

"Admiral, please, listen to reason."

"I am. There is something about you Sarah Inviere-Adama, you _need_ to survive; the fate of our civilization rests upon it."

Sarah, sighed, she knew she had lost, she nodded.

"Any last orders?"

"Nothing I can't tell Jack after you leave," pause, "oh there is one thing."

"Yes?"

"Tell Gina, -- tell her that for what it's worth, I'm sorry. And that I loved her."

"She loved you too, you'd be dead if she didn't."

Sarah could see the pain, rejection, and acceptance in Helena's eyes, so she did the only thing she could. She kissed her, hard.

After pulling back, she said, "I will."

A laugh, a real laugh for the first time in months, "Now get your pretty ass moving, Major."

"Yes, sir!"

As Helena finished imputing the coordinates she turned her headset back on.

"Jack?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Major Inviere-Adama is on her way back to the CIC."

"I understand." He did, his CO was going to die

"Get Miss Inviere out of the Brig and over to _Galactica's _Sickbay."

"Yes, sir."

"She's your ship, now, Jack, listen to Commander Adama, he's in charge."

"Yes, sir, anything else?"

"No," she entered the last number, "Jump."

And the ship jumped, tearing Helena Cain into microscopic pieces. Though Helena felt the pain, a lot of it, she welcomed it. It made her feel better, feel alive.

AN: Please review, thanks to those who have.

The next chapter will cover the fallout and conclusion of the investigation as well as Cain's funeral and the start of Gina's counciling. Depending on how long those events take, I might continue with the next few episodes of BSG.

I also wanted to clear up some paring issues and get a feeling on others.

Adama/Sarah (This should be clear to people by now, after all it's what drives this story)

Boomer/Chief (This will become an important relationship, with perhaps a wedding in the future)

Athena/Helo (Another Canon relationship I'm keeping)

Dee/Billy (Billy will not be dying in this story, and Sarah will knock some sense into Dee)

The issue I'm having is what to do with Laura Roslin and Gina Inviere (who will be sticking around)

Here's what I'm thinking:

Roslin/Cottle (because Roslin/Zarek is just, shudder)

Gina/?? (Any suggestions, other than Gaius Baltar, who I'm thinking of paring up with Tory)


	16. Aftermath

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of the end of "Resurrection Ship Part II"

Chapter 16

Aftermath

**1220 Hours**

**Launch Bay**

_**Battlestar Pegasus**_

**Funeral for Admiral Helena Cain**

Sarah sighed and looked down at her notes, she really had no idea how she was drafted into doing this. Oh, wait, that's right, she volunteered. Sara agreed to speak at Cain's funeral. She felt it was time to start mending bridges and that this was the perfect opportunity to do so.

Fisk finished his speech and stepped away from the podium. Sarah stepped out from her space between Bill and Laura and walked over to Cain's body. Sarah gently squeezed Helena's hand, before walking over to the podium and beginning her speech.

"We all make choices every day, some of them are simple and some of them may hold the human race in the balance. Most of the choices Admiral Cain had to make fell into the second category. She had to make decisions about the survival of her crew, she had to do what she thought was best. Were her decisions the right ones? I don't know. I doubt that even the Admiral knew." Sarah paused here for a moment, letting that sink in, before continuing, "When Admiral Cain first came onboard _Galactica_ she spoke about the reunification of the Colonial Fleet. That is what we must do. We are not _Galactica _and _Pegasus_, Bucket and Beast, or civilian and military. We are not Caprican or Gemenese, or Sagaterren, or Tauren. We are united. We are united against our enemies toward a common goal, Earth. That is where we're going. It's a one way trip. The Colonies are nuclear wastelands, Kobal is known by our enemies. We can either run around out here with the last of humanity on a quest for vengeance, or we can strive for something better. I'm for the latter."

Sarah stepped away from the podium. She hoped her words mended some bridges, because she had to start burning them again, soon.

**1305 Hours**

**President Roslin's Office**

_**Colonial One**_

**Admiral Adama's Promotion Ceremony**

Laura chucked for a moment, "I may not know a lot about military protocol Bill, but I know that a person who commands more than one ship is usually called an Admiral. So, congratulations."

Billy handed the box with the new rank pips to Sarah, who pinned them on Bill, before kissing him rather soundly. A few minutes later Laura cleared her throat loudly. The two lovebirds turned around and saw her smirking.

Bill coughed, and looked at his collar, "you know, I gave up on this a long time ago."

"I'm so proud of you, Bill," said Sarah, with a flirtatious smile

"Exactly how proud, Sarah?"

"I'll show you later."

"Gods are you two hormonal teenagers or something, get off my ship. I like porn as much as the next girl, but I'd really rather that you didn't do it in my office!" Laura was chucking.

Sarah was happy that Laura was happy, but she saw the sadness in her eyes. Laura knew she didn't have much time left. Sarah thought about it, she would need to do something. She just didn't know what.

**2300 Hours, The Next Day**

**Adama Quarters**

_**Battlestar Galactica.**_

Sarah stepped in to her quarter and immediately stripped out of her uniform. She walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for bed. Before she did, she looked into the mirror. Her body was not in the best shape right now, in fact, it was downright ugly. She traced the "Y" shaped scar on her chest where Layne Ishay cut into her. Then she traces the two bullet holes, one in her chest, her left lung, just above her breast. The other one was in her upper right abdomen; according to Sherman it just missed bleeding her out. Then she felt the yellow bruises on her stomach and chest, (Gage and Vireem weren't as careful as they thought.) As she pressed on them, they still tinged a bit, but it wasn't as bad as before, she didn't even notice them last night.

Sarah finished up, walked back out into the room and climbed into bed. She reflected on what she had done today. Today was the day that the tribunal reached its decision. Suffice to say, it was not nice to the crew of the _Pegasus._

With the exception of four key people, the sentence was the same for everyone. The charge was the same also, "rape of an enemy prisoner during a time of war." The only difference was how many counts they were convicted of.

Those who only raped Gina once were demoted back to Ensign or Private. Those that raped her two or more times were dishonorably discharged from the Service. They were assigned to service ships like the _Monarch, Demetrius, _and _Hitei Kan_, where their effect on the populous could be limited.

These new transfers tried to drum up support against the leadership, especially Sarah Inviere-Adama. It didn't work. Ninety percent of the population was either against them or didn't care. Sarah was rather a legend in the fleet, respected by many for her work with the fleet's civilian populous during the days after the attack. The people who didn't care just told them to shut up and do their job, or they wouldn't eat. They quickly did.

Suffice it to say, the results of these judgments were not kind to the _Pegasus's_ command structure. It all but gutted the command staff. There were less than fifteen officers onboard with a rank above second Lieutenant, and also removing most of Cain's department heads. The only senior officers left were Colonel, now Commander Fisk, Major Barry Gardner, chief engineer, Captain Kara Thrace, the CAG, Lieutenant Louis Hoshi, senior watch officer, and the ship's doctor, who was on probation. The tribunal felt that he had not done enough to help Gina, so his duties as Chief Medical Officer were handed over to the second most senior "doctor" in the military, Layne Ishay, who was promoted to Captain.

Surprisingly, there was very little effect on the upper members of the Deck Crew. Peter Laird and his deputies all still had their jobs and ranks at the end of the day. However, the rest of the deck crew except them was now entirely composed of Privates.

The worst hit was the Marine Corps; there wasn't a single marine left onboard above the rank of Corporal. This led to the transfer and promotion of now Sergeant Venner, as the new marine commander on _Pegasus_. The Tribunal also took this time to promote Brandy Harder and name her commander of the Marines on _Galactica, _a job she had been doing since Hadrian was kicked off the ship, they just made it official.

The remaining four people were Specialists Gage and Vireem, as well as Major Kendra Shaw, and Lieutenant Alistair Thorne. Gage and Vireem were also convicted of assault of a superior officer, and given a sentence of imprisonment onboard the _Astral Queen_, not to be released until the fleet reached "wherever it was going."

Kendra Shaw was convicted of the murder of Peter Laird's wife, and executed. Laird finally felt a sense of justice when he cycled the airlock and blew her out into space.

Thorne was the tribunal's scapegoat. He was convicted before the Quorum of the Twelve for war crimes, as well as his assault on Major Inviere-Adama. Although they could have sentenced him to life imprisonment, they chose to make an example of him. Sarah, herself, cycled the airlock that blew the sadistic bastard out into space.

Sarah's thoughts returned to the present, she just sighed at the kind of day she had. It was something she did not want to repeat.

Bill turned to her, "Long day?"

"You have no idea."

AN: Please Review! Thanks to those who have.

AN2: I apologize for the short length of this chapter, it was supposed to cover "Epiphanies" as well, but I still need to work out some issues with that chapter. Specifically what exactly I'm going to do with Gina and her counseling, because after watching that episode I have no idea how to get her from torture victim to "normal" while turning her off to the idea of Cylons being good and "saviors of humanity" and Demand Peace bit.

AN2: After taking your suggestions into account, I've decided to limit my choices for Gina's paring to two possible partners. Felix Gaeta (who will not lead a mutiny in this story) and Margaret "Racetrack" Edmundson. I'm not going to consider Kara or Lee because I wouldn't touch their relationship with a ten foot pole, (not necessarily because I like it, but because it's so damn complicated) I'm also not considering Aaron Kelly, because he has a role to play in this story. So let me know which one you think, personally, I'm leaning toward Gaeta, but if someone has a convincing argument for Racetrack I'm willing to hear it.


	17. Dammit Bill I’m a Councilor not a Viper

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Epiphanies," "Black Market," and "Scar"

Chapter 16

Dammit, Bill, I'm a Councilor, not a Viper Pilot

**0900 Hours**

**Sarah's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Counseling Session for Gina Inviere**

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Silence, complete silence.

Awkward.

"So how do these things go anyway?"

"Well usually you talk and I listen."

"What exactly is the point of this?"

"It helps you work through your issues."

"What issues? You know what, I don't need this." Gina got up to leave.

"Where are you going?

"Out."

"Out where? There is no place for you to go out there, not now anyway."

"Well I don't want to listen to this human psychobabble."

"Hmm, let's see, the reason why you're in this situation to begin with is that your 'programming' interpreted what you went through in the same manner that a human would. Although your body may be more resilient than a human one, Gina, your mind is not. Therefore, following that it can be supposed that the human methods of curing the mind would be effective in curing yours."

"Or I could just resurrect."

"If there was a resurrection ship left, you could, but it wouldn't solve anything. You'd have a new body, yes, but your mind would still be the same, that's the point of Resurrection."

Gina thought for a moment, groaned, and then went and sat down on the psychology couch.

"Good, now then let's start. How do you feel?"

"How do I feel? I feel angry, hatred, dirty, horrible."

"That's a good list to start with. So, who are you angry at?"

"Humanity."

"Why?"

"Because they did this to me."

"No, humanity did not do this to you. A few humans did this to you. The crew of the _Pegasus_ is not representative of the entire species."

"Oh, really? They were perfectly normal until they found out I was a Cylon."

"Well, lucky for you, we have some precedent in this case. Let's start with me. I tell the human's I'm a Cylon. Most do not hate me for it, they see me for who I am, an individual."

"Ah, yes, but you already had Adama on your side."

"Fine, another case closer to your own, Sharon Valerii, shot me, trying to shoot Bill in the CIC, sound familiar."

"But she was programmed to do that, I shot the people on _Pegasus _of my own free will."

"True, so let's look at the final example. The pregnant Eight from Caprica. She's still around."

"Ah, but only because she was useful to you."

"No, that wasn't the only reason. At the time it was. But if humans are truly as backstabbing as you think then they would have tortured her or killed her at the first opportunity."

"True."

"But they didn't and they have had plenty of opportunities to hurt her since then. So you see, not all humanity is bad."

"But do I have to like them?"

"Not if you don't want to, but consider this an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. Start judging humanity from the point you left the _Pegasus_ forward. Have you been treated with anything less than respect and kindness?"

Gina sighed, almost in defeat, "No."

Sarah sighed, in victory" Good then, let's move on." It was a step, but a small step along the road to recovery for Gina.

**1200 Hours **

**Adama Quarters**

**Battlestar Galactica**

**Lunch**

Bill and Sarah sat at their dining table and were eating lunch. Sarah wasn't sure what it was anymore. All food tasted the same.

"So what's wrong with Gina?"

Sarah paused, mentally weighing what she can tell him, "I won't lie, she's in a bad way, Bill. She's suffering from depersonalization, PTSD, and she blames humanity and herself."

"Can she recover?"

"Yes, she made a number of steps towards that today. I'd like to keep her in my old room for the time being. She's started associating my old quarters turned office as a place of safety. It's a good place for her to be. Better than the brig."

"Permission Granted, what else does she need?"

"A project, something to keep her busy, what about paring her up with Felix, isn't he working on some computer stuff."

"Come now, you know what he's working on. I call it computer stuff."

"Fine then, he's upgrading the firewalls, developing logic bombs, oh, and trying to modify our electronic warfare package. She knows computers, and Felix won't treat her any different than a regular nerd."

"She could do a lot of damage."

"It's not like I'm actually going to implement any of the changes without checking them over. All Cylons have a basic knack for computer systems."

"Alright then, but she gets limited access, only what she needs."

"I'll tell him to have her work on the logic bombs; she can't do a lot of damage there."

**1600 Hours**

**War Room/ **_**de facto**_** Office of Felix Gaeta**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The _Galactica's _war room was not used often, mostly for planning special operations, such as attacks on certain Resurrection Ships. So the table is usually covered by mounds of paper covered in computer code, along with a few laptops. That was the room's current condition.

Sergeant Harder escorted Gina to the room before leaving. Gina had been exclusively escorted around the ship by female marines, not that there were that many. She appreciated the gesture. Though she would never admit it, for fear of showing weakness, it made her a slight less wound. When she stepped inside the door closed with an audible groan. She saw Lieutenant Gaeta standing over a large pile of computer code deep in thought. He pursed his lips for a moment, grabbed a pencil and made some annotation in the margin.

"Hem, hem," Gina cleared her throat.

Felix's head jolted up, conveniently forgetting the lamp hanging over the table, he smacked right into it.

"Ow."

Gina giggled, actually giggled for the first time in months.

"Glad you think that's funny," Felix growled, groaning again.

Gina stopped giggling. Her patented abused puppy eyes came back again.

Felix noted this, "sorry, I'm not angry, I should have heard you come in with how loud that door is, but after a while you learn to ignore it."

"Life onboard an old Battlestar?"

"Bingo, as is this," he gestured to the large pile of papers, "on any other Battlestar except this one, we would have a computer lab, but here, we do things the old fashioned way."

"Well then, why don't you go over to _P- Peg-_ over there," she replied vaguely gesturing.

"Well, they still have a competent watch officer, thank the gods, and besides I'm practically holding this place together." He wasn't boasting, he really was holding the ship together.

"So what am I here for?"

"The Major thought you'd be willing to help me with a few special projects of mine. Specifically, she'd thought you'd be helpful with the logic bomb I'm developing." He hefted a large pile of paper and brought it over to where Gina's side of the table. Gina started glancing at it, she was impressed.

"How did you develop this code, it's very advanced?"

"The Sharon from Caprica developed it in the middle of a Cylon attack. It was very impressive, I've been trying to work off of that and develop a logic bomb to use in future battles, but it doesn't seem to work anymore."

Gina nodded and flipped through the pile before turning back to Felix, "I found the problem."

"What?"

"What you have here is a patch job. It was designed to modify the logic bomb in _Galactica's_ systems, not operate on its own, said bomb was deleted when you wiped the hard drive. You have all the basic parts of a logic bomb, it's just missing the framework." Gina grabbed a laptop, pulled up the file and started programming, with Felix interjecting here and there."

They worked in amicable silence for some time, Gina didn't even notice the close proximity of a male, she was so engrossed in her work.

Until the Action Stations klaxon went off.

"Frak, I need to get to the CIC, but I don't know what to do with you." Felix stopped and thought for a moment before groaning, "alright, come along, but stay _right behind me_. Got it?"

Gina nodded her head. They walked out the door and toward the CIC. Gina was alright at first, until someone running to get to his action station bumped her, This sent the very tightly wound Gina over the edge. She let out a little scream/rasp and ran over to a corner of the hallway, pulled herself up into a ball and started to rock herself while quietly sobbing.

**Meanwhile**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Felix arrived at the CIC to see everyone going about their business normally, he asked, "what happened?"

Tigh answered, "frakkin' idiots on _Pegasus_ saw a glitch after they refreshed their DRADIS screen and the idiots thought it was a Cylon attack."

Sarah looked at Felix, "Mr. Gaeta, where's Gina?"

"What do you mean, Major she was right behind," Felix turned around, Gina wasn't there, "me. Oh, frak."

**Meanwhile**

**The Corridor where Gina is sobbing**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_

Margaret Edmondson was walking back to her bunk, after having been rudely awoken by the Action Stations klaxon. She had already gotten dressed and was halfway to the flight deck before they announced it was a false alarm. Suffice it to say, she was rather annoyed at the loss of her sleep. Racetrack went along minding her own business until she passed a quiet sobbing noise. Margaret spun around and looked down. It was _her._ It was the Cylon that happened to look like Major Adama. Why was she crying? Was it a trick? Slowly, her hand went down to her sidearm and unclipped the strap on top of it.

"Are you okay?" she asked, rather gruffly.

"I, I, I was following Felix to the CIC like he told me, but then someone bumped me in the hallway, and I, I just lost it."

Margaret relaxed slightly, but didn't take her hand off her gun she squatted down and lifted Gina's head up to look in her eyes. What she saw caused her heart, the heart that had been somewhat cold since the day that the Major was shot, to melt, just a little. The look of fear sadness, and just a tiny glint of hope in those eyes said everything to her. It reminded Racetrack of herself when she was young. She clipped her gun belt again and brought her other hand up.

"Shhh, it's okay, don't cry."

Gina was trying to stop but failing miserably.

"I hate it, I hate being weak."

"You're not weak; you just need time to heal. It takes time, but you will get better, things will get better, trust me."

Gina gave a watery smile and nodded. She did trust her. For the first time, she felt like things would get better, she felt hope.

Margaret gently lifted Gina off the floor and started to guide her to the CIC.

Gina started feeling better, and her curiosity got the better of her, "what was the emergency?"

"There wasn't one. The incompetent frakwits on _Pegasus _thought they saw an attack when it was just a glitch."

"That's strange, the crew of _P-Peg_, of it were very good before."

"Yeah, well that was before they cleaned house."

"What?"

"That's what we're calling it, over there they're calling it '_The Culling_'"

"Calling what?"

"You know, the tribunals."

Margaret saw the look of confusion on Gina's face

"You honestly don't know?"

"Your doctor kept me sedated until yesterday afternoon. I barely had time to settle in, so forgive me if I'm a bit behind on ships gossip." As soon as she was finished talking she flinched, they would _always_ hit her if she talked back.

"Hey, hey, that's okay. Don't worry about it. Well, the investigation concluded shortly after Cain's death, you remember the investigation, right?"

Gina nodded, while some of the past few days, or weeks was hazy, she easily remembered her sister entering her cell.

"Well, the tribunal made its decision about what happened to you. They either busted them back down to the lowest ranks, or kicked them out of the service. Except for Gage and Vireem."

Gina shuddered at their, though she may have appeared out of it to the humans, she remembered a lot from that day, damn her Cylon memory.

"They were booted onto the _Astral Queen_, our prison ship, for attacking the Major Inviere-Adama. Shaw was airlocked for murdering Mrs. Laird, oh and Thorne—"

Here Gina didn't flinch she practically jumped, squaked and flew to the wall, breathing heavily. Margaret slowly approached her.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry about that, I take it you knew who he was."

"Unfortunately."

"Well, you don't have to worry about him, they airlocked him."

"Oh, good."

**1000 Hours, Several Days Later**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar**_** Galactica**_

**President Roslin's Death Bed**

Sarah hadn't left Laura's side since she arrived; honestly, it was the saddest thing in the world to see Laura going through this. Although she had tried everything she knew in looking for a cure, she had failed. And now, the closest thing she ever had to a mother was going to pay the price.

Laura wanted to meet with her, Baltar, and Bill for some reason. So the other two arrived and the President issued her last order.

"Based on what Doctor Cottle has said about the 'damn peculiar' genetics of the Cylon Hybrid, I have decided that it is too dangerous to allow it to come for term. Therefore, I order the termination of the pregnancy immediately."

To say Sarah was shocked would be an understatement. This, this was absolutely wrong, no other way about it.

"Absolutely frakkin' no."

"Sarah—"

"I will not let you terminate this pregnancy. You are on your deathbed Madame President, clearly your mind has been disrupted by the cancer."

"If her mind has indeed been disrupted—"

"Shut up, Baltar."

"Major, I can assure you that my mind is functioning quite clearly."

"Oh really, you've decided to kill a child when it hasn't even done something yet!"

"That thing is an enemy."

"Really, just like I'm an enemy, hmm? If this was my child would you be so quick as to condemn it to death?"

Laura was silent.

"Well then, let's assume this is my child, because it is. I'm pregnant, Laura. I was excepting a congratulations, not a termination order!"

That floored everyone.

"So what do you think now, Madam President? Hmm?"

Laura was too shocked to say anything. She just turned over away from Sarah. Sarah just groaned and walked away. Bill followed her, she saw the look on his face.

"Bill I'm sorry I didn't tell you first."

Bill couldn't stay mad any longer, his lips quirked, then he smiled, then he laughed, "Sarah, I'm not mad. I'm overjoyed. This is one of the happiest moments of my life!"

Sarah smiled, then she sighed.

"What is it, Sarah, what's wrong."

"It's just these blood tests , they worry me?"

"Well have you looked at them?"

"No."

"You should, you might notice something Sherman missed."

Then there was an announcement for them to contact Saul, which in turn led to them meeting in her office about Demand Peace. Personally, Sarah thought that it was a hilarious venture.

"They honestly want, and think they will get peace with the Cylons? I am a Cylon and even I think they're frakkin' crazy!"

"It's worse." Bill handed her another flier, which read 'we believe peace with the Cylons is already possible seeing that we have already had two Cylons join humanity.'

"Hmm, I wonder if they understand the meaning of the phrase 'the exception is not the rule.'"

"I'm sure they don't."

"So what do we do?"

Bill answered, "I want to meet the leaders of this 'organization.'"

"If we're done here, I have to get back to the lab, I promised Doc Cottle I'd take a look at that 'damn peculiar' blood test of his."

"What are we going to do about the president?"

"She won't be president for much longer; I think we have to just ignore her for the time being."

"Agreed."

**1100 Hours**

**Dr. Baltar's Lab**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah sat at the microscope looking at the baby's blood. She knew she had to be missing something. So far, she had been able to determine that the baby had no blood type, none. But there was something else, she was sure she just couldn't see it.

Of course, she might have a bit more luck if Dr. Baltar wasn't trying to put the moves on her every five minutes.

"You know, Major, I'm quite the genius, smarter than your husband and Dr. Cottle definitely, if you tell me what you're looking for I might be able to help you."

Sarah groaned internally, "I'm fine doctor, thank you for asking."

"You know, I think we would make quite the team, with our brains, our beauty. It's a shame you're married to the old man; he wouldn't have to even know."

Now Sarah was starting to get just a little pissed off, "Happily married, doctor, let's just focus on our work, shall we."

"Really you don't like me Major, I'm hurt." He started running his hand along her shoulder and upper chest.

Sarah had tried to be patient but no longer. She gently, seductively grabbed Doctor Baltar's hand before twisting it around and throwing it to the table at a rather uncomfortable angle.

"Doctor Baltar, you are an ass of a chauvinistic pig! I have only kissed three people in my life and slept with two. I would not sleep with you if you were the _last_ _man alive in the universe_." She increased the pressure on his hand. "There are twenty seven bones in the human hand, doctor I would have no problem what so ever with breaking all of them if you do not stop! Furthermore, if you do not stay away from Gina, I swear, I will break your other hand as well. I have no idea why you're so interested in my sister and I, but I will find out, now get out!"

Baltar practically ran out the door.

Sarah turned back to her work and sighed she placed a hand over her belly. She sighed in contentment; it felt so good to have a life growing within her. She looked back at the microscope. She squinted and looked a bit closer. Wait, those cells are, but what good would that do, could that mean? She went over to the phone and called sickbay, "Doctor Cottle, can you send the president's blood samples to the lab immediately, time is of the essence.

An hour later she jumped up and started shouting, "Yes!" over and over again, before proceeding to do a little jig. She suddenly stopped when she realized that the woman whose life she had just saved had tried to kill the object of her salvation two hours before.

**1500 Hours, the next day**

**Office of the President**

_**Colonial One**_

"You asked to see me, Madam President?"

"Yes, Sarah, come in." Sarah entered and took a seat

"I wanted to thank you for what you did. You saved my life."

"It was really Sharon and her baby who did it; I just put the pieces together."

"Yes, well, thank you."

Sarah just nodded her head.

"I wanted to apologize for my action the other day. I had no right to make that decision. Furthermore, I made it without understanding the facts."

"I trust you have changed your mind now?"

"Yes, I have, so I wanted you to give this to the Cylon- I mean Sharon for me." Laura pulled out a white crochet blanket and handed it to Sarah. "During the last few weeks I haven't been able to do much, but leave my bed, so I had time to finish it.

"Laura, while I appreciate what you are trying to do, I am not the one that you need to apologize to, and I believe that that will mean a lot more to Sharon coming from you."

Laura nodded, "yes, you're right, as always. I'll bring it by on my next trip to _Galactica_."

Sarah smiled and stood up to leave, she was almost at the door before Laura stopped her.

"Oh, and Sarah?"

"Yes?"

"Congratulations."

"Do you have any plans for tonight, Bill and I would love to have you over for dinner."

"As a matter of fact I do, I have a date."

"Really, with who?"

"Sherman Cottle."

**1800 Hours, a week later**

**Sarah's office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**After the events of the **_**Prometheus**_

Tick, tock.

"So let me get this straight, you started hiring a prostitute, who then led you to the head of the black market, said prostitute is just about kidnapped by the head of the market. You kill the head of the market, save her, and save her daughter from a life of child prostitution and then, she says that she can't see you anymore?"

"Yep."

"Hmm," Sarah got up and started pacing in her office, "well, the way I see it this is not completely your fault, actually it's less than half your fault."

"What do you mean?"

"The lady, you called her Shevon, I believe, clearly has commitment issues, she has become so used to being used by people in an effort to keep herself and her daughter alive, that she is afraid that you would throw her away like many other people have done."

"I wouldn't do that."

"I know, you know and on some level she knows. But today what I wanted to talk about with you was why this started?"

"Why what started."

"Why you started seeing her."

"Surely you can figure that out, Sarah. Men have needs."

"No, Lee that's not it. If it was that was it you would have just simply frakked Kara or Dee, by the way, please stay away from her, you're confusing the poor girl even more than she already is. If you did go to Shevon, you would not have become so involved. There is something else to this, isn't there, Lee?"

"Yes, her name was Gianne, we were engaged, but I broke it off."

"Why?"

"She became pregnant. With everything I was going through at the time, I just freaked."

"Ah, so you being with Shevon was your attempt to get what you had lost," she sighed, "we all have regrets Lee. The important thing is to move past them. There is someone out there for you. For all you know it may be Shevon, give it time, see what happens."

**1100 Hours, Day 27 of Mining Operations**

**War Room/ Currently not Felix Gaeta's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The Galactica's Air Wing was not having a good month. Apparently, destroying a Resurrection Ship does have an effect on how the Cylons operate, specifically the Raiders. Instead of coming at the Vipers in force as they did in the past, instead they used hit and run attacks. Said attacks were devastatingly effective.

After 27 days of leaving it up to the air wing, without result, they decided to call in every single expert they had on Cylon Raiders, or Viper Wings or CAP, or flying in general. This led to a collection of people similar to the Whistleblower Comission. There was Bill, Sarah, and Lee Adama, Kara Thrace, Louanne Katraine, Chief Tyrol, Sharon Valerii, Karl Agathon, Felix Gaeta, Gina Inviere, Brandy Harder (Gina's escort of the day), Caprica-Sharon, Stuart Jaffee (Sarah had decided that it had gotten to the point of having an entire marine detachment pointing their guns at Sharon 24/7 was overkill, thus there was only the one guard inside and three others outside), Saul Tigh, Laura Roslin and Billy Keikeya (Both of whom were representing the miners.)

"So, this operation will take another 11 days, damn."

"The Air Wing is getting decimated out there."

"It's Scar's fault."

"Why is this one raider proving such a problem?"

"Raiders can resurrect, just like the organic models."

"So each time we kill one…"

"It learns. The more you kill them the smarter they get. Resurrection can be a very effective tool for learning. That's probably why he hates you so much, you've probably killed him before."

"Excellent analysis, Sharon, congrats Kara, you have a vendetta."

"Well, at least the replacement Vipers will be ready soon."

"Vipers, yes, pilots, no."

"The casualties are highest among the nuggets."

"What the frak are the idiots on _Pegasus_ doing, these pilots we're getting are barely qualified."

"As soon as this is over, Starbuck, you're going to be training pilots again."

"Yes, Admiral."

"Can we get back to what we're going to do about the Raider problem?"

"Gina, Mr. Gaeta, can we logic bomb them?"

Gina and Felix looked at each other for a moment.

"No, The logic bomb we have is very simplistic compared to the very nice one the Cylons handed us. Right now we see it as having a fifty-fifty chance of working."

"But that point is moot anyway, Felix, it will only work within a certain range of _Galactica's _Electronic Warfare package, we tried adapting it to the ones on the raptors, but they're incompatible."

Colonel Tigh suddenly had an idea, "Hey can't we send Blondie out to kill the thing?"

"I can't get in a Viper, I'm pregnant you idiot. We have Kara and Lee, what do you need me for?"

"Clearly they aren't getting the job done."

"Don't forget about me! I'm going to kill the thing."

"Oh, right we have Kat too."

And so, the meeting went around and around in circles, simply because no one thought any better. Sarah hoped she would have more luck with the counseling session she had later today.

**1700 Hours, Day 27 of Mining Operations**

**Sarah's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

"It's been a while since we talked, Kara."

"Well, I'm a busy person."

"Oh, cut the sarcasm, now is not Starbuck time. Now is Kara time. So talk to me, just talk to me."

"I'm all messed up, Sarah."

"Why what makes you say that?"

"The pilots are dropping like flies, I'm in the fight of my life, and, and I need to get back to Caprica."

"Okay, Kara, we're going to take this one thing at a time. First off, your pilots, their dying is not your fault, trust me, as a former student of yours I can say that you are a very good teacher. They are doing their best. You need to keep them calm and keep them working together, the air wing is a team, not a bunch of people in a competition to rack up the most kills."

"Yeah, well, my wingman would disagree with you."

"Kat needs perspective, she wants to impress you, her mentor, she may not act like it, but she respects you. Next up is Scar, treat him like any other opponent, respect him, but defeat him, remember you don't have to do it alone."

"I've been doing things alone my entire life."

"Well you're not alone now, you've got a family."

"Do I truly like it though? It feels like something's missing."

"Anders."

"Exactly, I feel like I'm letting him down."

"Not going back is not your fault. But, why are you thinking of him so much, now?"

"I feel conflicted over my feelings to him, because of…"

"Lee."

Kara looked up in shock, "oh please, don't be so shocked. The Apollo/Starbuck unresolved sexual tension is legendary on this ship."

"I thought you said this was Kara time, not Starbuck time."

"It is, and that's why I'm asking you if you are using Lee to replace Anders in your mind and your heart, or if you are using Anders to replace Lee?"

That got Kara thinking.

Tick, tock. Tick, tock.

AN: Please review, Thanks to those who have

AN2: As you can see I still haven't decided on who to pair Gina up with yet, so I decided to put her in scenes with both Felix and Racetrack to see who turns out better, but I really can't tell.

AN3: oh, and this chapter's trivia challenge is a reference to a famous Science Fiction TV Show.


	18. Shotgun Weddings, an Unwanted Command, a

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Sacrifices" "The Captain's Hand" and "Downloaded"

AN: Congratulations to "The people's Sgt" who correctly identified last week's title as a reference to the classic "I'm a doctor, not a (Bricklayer, Counterinsurgent, Doorstop, Physicist, etc.)" The line, originally used by 'Bones' McCoy in _Star Trek_, was usually prefixed with a "Dammit, Jim, (or whoever was in command at the time.)"

Chapter 18

Shotgun Weddings, an Unwanted Command, and a Problematic Birth

**0830 Hours**

**War Room/ Felix Gaeta's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Gina Inviere was hunched over the table when she heard the door creak open. Felix Gaeta walked in and saw her working.

"Good Morning, Gina, you're up early."

"Yes, I am. I thought I'd get an early start today." Lie. Actually, she couldn't sleep because of her nightmares, so it was either work or reading some boring classic novel.

"Well, what have you gotten done so far?"

"They dropped off a couple more laptops today," she gestured to the stack of laptops next to her, as well as a role of networking cable, "I'm attempting to configure a network."

Felix was suspicious, the last time they had a network, it turned out to be a really bad idea, "for what."

"Well, we need to test these new firewalls you're creating, so the best way to do it would be a practical exercise." She pointed to the five computers set up, "Fire Control, Navigation, Damage Control, CIC, and the Cylons. My plan is to program this computer with a Cylon virus, while you program the other four with a firewall, and see what happens."

"So what are you doing now?"

"Well, they sent these computers here because the owners were dead and they were password protected, no one felt like hacking them, so I'm just checking that there's nothing critical on them before I reimage them."

"Okay." Felix grabbed one of the laptops and got to work. He enjoyed working with computers for some reason it relaxes him, so that's why he volunteered to create this project on his time off, like today.

He had been working for about twenty minutes before Gina ran to the garbage can and started retching into it. Immediately, Felix went to her.

"Gina, are you okay?"

By this time she was done vomiting, so she started chuckling, "a bit of a stupid question Mr. Gaeta."

"True. What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's, it's, well, just read it for yourself." Felix went over to the computer screen and read the text on screen. It was not polite, at all

"_Today, the prisoner attacked and killed Marine Pvt. Mason during his attempt to 'interrogate and inspect' the prisoner. I ordered that the prisoner remain chained continuously and that its food be cut again. The monster, yes, I call it a monster for killing one of my men, is becoming defiant again, perhaps another revel is required to ensure submissiveness?"_

Felix stepped away from the computer as if burned. Who could write such horrid drivel? He looked at the property tag on the underside of the computer. _"Property of Lieutenant Alastair Thorne."_Gods, why won't that man leave her the hell alone, he's dead for fraks sake.

Felix walked back over to Gina who was sitting on the floor, she said, "I'm a monster, Felix."

Felix gently placed his hands on her head and dragged her eyes into line with his.

"Listen to me very carefully, Gina, because I will only say this once. You are _not_ a monster." He pointed at the computer, "That, that _man_, was not human. _He_ was a monster; a psychopathic, sadistic, monster. You are more human than he is."

"But, I, I'm a machine."

"Yes, you are a machine, just as I am a machine. Humans are machines as well, we have valves, and systems, and joints, and intelligence. But it is this," he pointed to his head, "that makes us what we are; it makes us emotional, caring, compassionate, angry, happy, sad, and creative." He pointed at her head, "You have that as well. Thorne and his lackeys, they didn't have emotions, they just had urges, primal feelings, which they allowed to drive their actions. They were the real machines."

Gina just started sobbing quietly, so Felix just sat on the floor and held her.

**1300 Hours**

**Sarah's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Sarah had gotten into a new industry.

Marriage counseling, well, sort of, seeing that the couple wasn't even engaged yet, and that she was currently meeting with only a half of the couple.

Billy had let it slip to her that he was planning on proposing to Dee in a few days, tomorrow, in fact. Sarah wasn't sure how Dee would take it. She wanted to sort things out.

"So, how have things been going with Billy?"

"Things have, things have not been the best."

"Why?"

"Billy, he's great, almost too great."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He's sweet, charming, smart, and innocent. I think he loves me. I think he's just too good for me."

"Why would you think that?"

"I, I don't know if I can give him what he wants."

"What do you mean?"

"He has this view of starting over, of the white picket fence, and a charming house and me and a, a family. But, that's all gone. It's all blown to hell and I don't know how to cope with it."

"Do you think Billy is an idiot?"

"No, of course not, why?"

"Billy, probably knows more about this fleet than you do. Who do you think gets all the information about anything for the President, why was he on the Astral Queen with you? He knows that right now, that dream is not possible. And he knows that he is not moving into a charming house with a white picket fence. The only place he's moving is to the desk five feet from his."

"What?"

"Laura Roslin's desk is five feet from his."

"Seriously?"

"Yep, listen, Dee. He loves you; this would be very good for both of you."

And so, that is why when Billy Keikeya asked Anastasia Dualla to marry him, she said yes.

**1000 Hours, a Few Days Later**

**The Starlight Lounge**

_**Cloud 9**_

**Keikeya/Dualla Engagement Party **

Since Sarah was actually surprised that Dee said yes to Billy, the fact that they wanted to have the wedding ASAP shocked her. It was something she didn't understand, and Dee and Billy weren't talking.

The future Wedding Party consisted of Sarah, who would be acting as the Mother of the Bride, the Bride herself, the Groom, Sharon, who would be acting as Maid of Honor, Lee, who was acting as Best Man and the Chief, who tagged along with Sharon.

Speaking of Galen and Sharon, "Ahem, if I may. Sharon and I have an announcement to make."

"We're engaged!"

Much squealing and handshaking later, Billy held his hand up, "wait, why don't we make this simpler by combining Ceremonies."

Dee started nodding, "Yes, the guest lists are the same, it's easier, and it'll be more fun."

Sarah was happily congratulating the other couple when she felt something, "Excuse me," she said before promptly rushing to the washroom.

"Morning Sickness?"

"Yeah," Dee answered, "she was driving the CIC crazy with it before we finally got her to swap shifts with Colonel Tigh."

Sharon, meanwhile had been looking around noticed something, a gun, on a woman. She looked around some more and noticed several suspicious men surrounding the bar.

"Hey," she whispered to get everyone's attention, "there's something wrong here, there are five people with guns surrounding the bar."

"Oh, Frak."

"Exactly, we have to handle this carefully."

"How carefully?"

Lee looked around and picked up the same thing Sharon did, "There are three by the door, Dee, you'll take the woman. Chief you have the guy on her left, Sharon, guy on her right, I've got the guy by the Bar, and Billy, you have the guy in the back. Got it?"

Everyone subtly nodded. They discreetly released the clips on their respective sidearms.

Sesha Abinell made her move, she started pulling her gun and pointing it at the ceiling.

"NOW!" Lee shouted.

The group responded quite fluidly, within seconds they had their guns pointed at their respective targets , who were in turn pointing their guns at them.

"Drop your weapons!" both groups shouted.

Meanwhile, Sarah, after hearing the commotion and washing up, walked peaked out of the washroom before drawing her guns and pointing them at the guy in the back and the guy at the bar. She caught the opening of Sesha Abinell's Manifesto.

"We aren't terrorists we're members of the fleet just like you!"

"Uh, you're drawing weapons in the middle of the bar, how can you explain that?"

"Shut up, Toaster!"

Well, damn, at least they weren't Demand Peace.

"Now all of you are going to put your guns down or we start shooting hostages."

"I don't think so."

"I'm serious!"

"Hmm, let's see, you have six people pointing guns at your heads. Six people who know how to use them very well. Among them are three of the top five shots on Galactica's shooting range. In my opinion you've just made the worst mistake of your lives. Now put your guns down."

"No."

"Have it your way then. We'll just stand her until you arms start getting tired."

Sarah subtly nodded.  
A roar of gunfire filled the room for a brief second. Then, all of the terrorists keeled over, dead, from at least one headshot each.

Security entered and the wedding party stood down. Amazingly, not one of them was hit.

**1100 Hours, One Week Later**

**Starboard Flight Pod/ the Defunct **_**Galactica **_**Museum**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**The Keikeya-Dualla, Tyrol-Valerii Wedding**

As Sarah stood at the beginning of the ceremony, she smiled. This week had been difficult. The Abinell Situation was quickly resolved, when both Commander Adama and the President stood out in support of the Cylons in the fleet and the press scathingly presented Abinell as a deranged, obsessed, lunatic and the wedding party, Cylons included, as heroes. This in turn led to a small wedding being turned into the wedding of the century.

Sarah smiled at Dee, standing to her left, in her new dress grey uniform. Bill had promoted her to Lieutenant the night before. He said that she had earned it; now, they actually had a Communications _Officer_.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the wedding of two couples Billy and Anastasia, and Galen and Sharon; two couples who found themselves under the most unlikely of circumstances.

"Do you Billy Keikeya take Anastasia Dualla to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in the good times and the bad for as long as you both shall live?"  
"I do."

"And do you Anastasia Dualla take Billy Keikeya to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in the good times and the bad, for as long as you both shall live?"  
"I do."

Bill moved over to Galen and Sharon.

"Do you Galen Tyrol take Sharon Valerii to be your lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in the good times and the bad for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"And do you Sharon Valerii take Galen Tyrol to be your lawfully wedded husband to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in the good times and the bad for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Very well then, the rings?

All four of them took the rings out of their own pockets; they couldn't decide on who would hold them, so they just kept them themselves. Billy had gotten a rather nice ring for Dee, although, she still would wear it in addition to his newly resized Debate Team ring.

"Dee, Sharon, repeat after me. With his ring…"

"With this ring…"

"I be wed…"

"I be wed…"

"And now Billy, and Galen, repeat after me. With this ring…"

"With this ring…"

"I be wed…"

"I be wed…"

"Under the power vested in me as Admiral-of-the-Fleet of Twelve Colonies of Kobol. I pronounce you married. You may kiss the brides."

"May I present for the first time in public, Mr. and Lieutenant Billy and Anastasia Keikeya and Chief Petty Officer and Lieutenant Galen and Sharon Tyrol."

There was a loud rousing applause from all.

**1100 Hours, a few days later**

**Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Pegasus**_

**Training Inspection Tour**

Sarah and Lee stepped off the Raptor onto the Hanger Deck. They were sent here to assist Kara with her training issues. Sarah also intended to evaluate Commander Garner, the engineer turned Commander. They quickly walked to the CIC where they found Garner standing over the command table, looking at a star chart.

"Ah, Majors, I'm glad you're here, maybe you can help us where our training officer let us down. Two of our Raptors have gone missing. I intend to find them."

As Garner described what happened, Sarah looked around the CIC, most of the crew was giving her glances of outright suspicion or contempt. It was clear she wasn't welcome here. Sarah's attention was drawn back to the commander when he approached Lieutenant Hoshi.

"Mr. Hoshi, didn't I ask to be patched in on all command level communications?"

"Sir, I was just clearing a raptor for launch."

"Why wasn't I informed?"

"Well, you were busy with the Majors."

"No excuses, Ensign Thornton, please relieve Lieutenant Hoshi."

After seeing the single surviving command officer relieved by a demoted officer, Sarah started thinking that Kara's paranoia about Garner's paranoia wasn't so paranoid any more.

**1500 Hours, the next day**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Pegasus**_

After observing Barry Garner for a day Sarah determined that the man was absolutely incompetent and paranoid. In fact she was planning on starting an official investigation after the whole Raptor thing was over.

Of course, Lee tried to beat he to the punch, tried being the key word. Both he and Sarah knew they were jumping into a trap. Both of them tried to warn Commander Garner, who of course wouldn't listen. So Lee tried to relieve him of command, and failed. Causing him to be escorted out of the CIC and leaving Sarah as the only _competent _officer. Then the idiot, Garner, had to jump the ship into the middle of a trap, which knocked out their FTL drive in the first shot, thanks to a very well aimed nuke.

So that was how the CIC evolved into a state of controlled chaos. Garner was on the phone with Engineering.

"Well it must be a gage problem so just pull it. It's not? Well then find out what it is."

Garner hung up the phone and sighed.

"I have to get down there," he look at Sarah, "you have the Conn, Major."

"Aye, sir," Sarah paused and looked up at the Dradis screen, "I have the Conn." Then, she shouted out into the hallway, "Lee! Get your ass back in here!" As Lee was running in she walked over to Ensign Thornton's station. She pulled up the tactical plot of the closest Baseship.

"Load forward batteries for salvo fire, and target the closest Baseship, here, here, and here." She pointed toward three spots along its central axis.

Thornton did nothing.

"Now, Ensign!"

Thornton still did nothing, he just looked at her.

"Oh, fine, I'll do it myself," she pushed Thornton out of the way, aimed the batteries and fired half a salvo at the targets she selected. The Baseship quickly broke in two and lost power. Sarah looked back at the DRADIS, yes, yes, that would work. Sarah looked at Lee who had rolled the ship to keep the nukes off their topside. "Lee, put on us a heading to the second Baseship."

"Helm come hard left, heading 221carem 138."

"Reloading forward batteries and selecting targets."

"We're on line with the target, range 2400."

"Firing."

And with that, Sarah Inviere-Adama blew up a second baseship. Of course, that's when the Cylons had to damage the main batteries.

Sarah sighed, "Well, we won't be doing that again."

Lieutenant Hoshi shouted, "FTL's online."

Lee nodded, "Get our birds home, Combat Landings, Jump as soon as the last one's onboard."

**2000 Hours**

**Adamas' Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill, Sarah, and Lee were sitting around Bill's desk debriefing about the mission.

"I read both of your reports. You both seem to give Garner a lot of credit."

"Well, it's true; he gave his life to save the ship."

"Kara gave a different story."

"Well, her perspective was different than ours."

"What do you think was Garner's major flaw?"

Sarah thought for a moment, "Garner was an engineer, he was used to things doing what he wanted when he wanted it. If they didn't, then he could fix them. He wasn't used to people, or trusting those people to not frak up."

"Well, both of you are people persons, one of you is going to have to take command of … The Beast."

Sarah turned to Lee, "Congratulations, Commander."

"You, don't want it, Major?"

"Hmm, now why wouldn't I want command of the _Pegasus_? One, I'm pregnant. Two, I'm already in work up to my eyeballs, so I really don't have the time to command a Battlestar. And three, you saw how the crew reacted to me. I had to _shove_ Thornton out of the way because he refused to follow orders. I could never command them. So, congratulations, Lee. You deserve it.

**1230 Hours, a few days later**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**The Cylon-Human Hybrid Birth**

Sarah ran into the room and quickly scrubbed up, put on some surgical gear and went to Caprica-Sharon's bed. A baby was about to be born. Standing around were Doctor Cottle, Layne Ishay, back from the Pegasus after having cleared its doctor, Karl Agathon, and her.

"What happened, Doctor?"

"Well, you think with all the improvements the Cylons made they could have at least upgraded the plumbing. She has a detached placenta. Baby comes out now or we lose both of them."

"Sir, Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to step back, she's hemorrhaging again."

"Damn, Layne, let's make the cut now."

A few minutes later, Cottle pulled Hera out and placed her in the incubator. They all just stood around looked at the cute little thing.

Until Sarah raised the obvious question, "Okay, now what?"

**1730 Hours**

**Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Cylon-Human Hybrid Crisis Commission Meeting**

Sarah, Bill, Doc Cottle, Gina, Helo, Caprica-Sharon, Gaius Baltar, Sharon Tyrol, and Hera Agathon were sitting (or in Hera's Case, laying in an incubation chamber) around the Wardroom table. They were waiting for the last member of the Commission before starting. A few minutes later, Laura Roslin entered the room and looked around. She saw Sherman glaring at her. The President sighed and sat as far away from him as she could.

Sarah leaned over to her fellow major, "What's up between you and the President, Sherman?"

"We're having a disagreement over banning abortions."

"Oh, I think she was right about that, from a scientific point of view. The human race is dying out."

"No, _Gaius Baltar_ says the human race is dying out. It's different."

"I double checked his figures. He was right."

"Oh."

Bill cleared his throat, "If you two don't mind, we have a lot to get through."

"Oh, right."

"Your report, Major?"

Sarah nodded and looked at the folder in front of her, "Six hours ago, the Cylon-Human hybrid child, named Hera was born to Lieutenant Karl Agathon and the Number Eight copy recovered from Caprica, known as Sharon. The purpose of this Commission is to determine the possible threat that the child poses to The Fleet, and what should be done with her, including measures in keeping the child safe."

Gaius started, "Major, what exactly do you mean by 'done with her' are you suggesting we throw her out an airlock?"

"No Doctor, I am most _certainly_ not suggesting that. What we need to do is determine is the best way of raising the child."

"Raising the child? I think that Sharon and I should raise Hera, we're her parents."

"Lieutenant, I think what the major is trying to say is that your baby is a target for the Cylons. We have to look at how we should keep her safe."

Doc Cottle threw in his suggestion, "The way I see it the child is safest with her mother."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Yes, but as the press and Sesha Abinell have recently proven, we have no way of keeping the child secret."

"Why would we want to keep the child secret?"

"Um, enemy agents in the fleet, huge fleet of ships hell bent on destroying us, remember?"

"They would not destroy Hera, she is the only child ever produced by a Cylon."

"There are many human groups that would want to kill her."

"Yes there are, so far we've managed to keep Sharon safe in our brig."

"Then the child should stay there as well."

Laura decided to make her play, "I think the child should be raised separate from her mother, if we disguise her as a regular human child and fake her death the Cylons won't know that she exists." Thankfully Laura shut up there and didn't go on into what she thought about Sharon's parenting skills.

Sarah decided to conclude the discussion; this topic had been difficult for her, seeing that whatever decision was made would govern her own child as well. But she trusted herself and her friends to make the best decisions, "both ideas have merit. Caprica-Sharon, what do you think?"

"I think that Hera I my child and should stay with me."

There were nods all around the table, except for Laura, who looked a little put out for not getting her way.

"Very well then, Hera will stay with Caprica-Sharon in her cell. Now let's discuss security."

"We should limit the access to Hera as much as possible."

"Agreed. She doesn't get taken out of the cell without the Admiral's or Doctor Cottle's authorization."

"Also she should be assigned a permanent Marine Guard." Sarah looked up at the person who was escorting Sharon that day, Stewart Jaffee, "Private Jaffee."

"Yes, sir?"

"I understand you have a younger sister on the _Chrion_?"

"Um, yes, sir, she just turned 7 last week."

"Did you help with raising her when you were growing up?"

"Of course, Major."

"Would you be comfortable for heading up Hera's guard?"

"I'd be happy to, Sir."

"Good."

Gina spoke up for the first time, "I would like to volunteer as well."

"Then consider yourself our first ever Cylon babysitter, sis." Everyone laughed at that.

AN: Please review, thanks to those who have.

AN2: The next chapter will cover Lay Down your Burdens.


	19. We Told You So, Again

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Lay Down Your Burdens"

AN: Well, here we are, the end of Season 2. This chapter was probably one of the hardest for me to write. Many decisions I had been putting off came into this chapter. It's a game changer; it commits me down a path that can't be changed.

AN2: Remember how I said I was disregarding "The Plan"? I lied. I included a few parts in this chapter, just a few parts, not everything. For example, Boomer doesn't have MPD, just a bit of programming and two Sixes running around _Galactica_ is enough, no need for the one hopelessly attached to Cavil that looks like a prostitute.

Chapter 19

We Told You So, Again.

**0800 Hours**

**A Raptor**

**The Fleet**

**En Route to **_**Pegasus**_

A Raptor containing Sarah, Gina (who was wearing her old uniform) and Felix was on route to _Pegasus_, where they would be assisting with preparations for a Raptor SAR mission back to Caprica to pick up a group of resistance fighters. The atmosphere in the Raptor was interesting; Sarah and Felix were both trying to calm Gina.

"Gina, what's wrong?"

"Felix, need I remind you what happened to me last time I was on that ship."

"No, you don't, but this time, everything will be different. Sarah and I will keep you safe."

"Oh, why did you talk me into this, sis?"

"Well, I told you that you needed some fresh air."

"Yeah, but I didn't want to go all the way across the galaxy to get it!"

Felix interjected, "you need to keep calm, Gina, everything is going to be alright."

"Alright, alright! How the frak will it be al—"

Gina could no longer talk because Felix was currently sucking her face off. Surprisingly to everyone, including her, she didn't pull back or try to stop him. This was love, this was good, this wasn't – _before_.

Sarah cut in with a throat clearing. She wanted to stop them before they went too far. Gina was actually smiling when she pulled back.

"Thank you, Felix, I needed that."

A few minutes later they were walking toward the pilots ready room. When they arrived at the door Lieutenant Hoshi stopped them, "Sorry, Captain Thrace, wanted to properly introduce you." When the door opened the three stepped in. In that moment the divide between the _Pegasus _pilots and the _Galactica_ pilots couldn't be any clearer. The _Galactica_ crew didn't react with anything more than a slight curiosity; after all, it was the first time they saw the two Inviere sisters together. Conversely, the _Pegasus_ crewmembers were all fingering their sidearms eying the Cylons with no small part of hostility. After all, to them, this was the _thing_ that ripped their ship apart and her (several unrepeatable and degrading words) of a _sister._

Both Gina and Sarah saw this, but again surprising everyone, Gina decided to speak. "Listen to me very carefully, my sister and I volunteered for this mission because we want to help, but if that help is so unwanted then we will leave you to drift through the cosmos and become quite lost. So if you want this mission to be a success, then _stand down now_!"

Sarah was shocked, what the hell did Felix do to get more progress with Gina with one thirty second kiss then she did in the whole time she had been working with her. Sarah felt rather slighted.

**0830 Hours**

**Cylon Holding Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Private Stewart Jaffee walked into the cell with Sharon's breakfast, Sharon was already up and greeted him, "Good Morning, Private."

"Good Morning, Sharon and how is Hera this morning?"

"Not sleeping through the night, that's for sure."

The Private chuckled, "Welcome to Motherhood, I'd get you a book on the subject, but unfortunately our library is more focused toward the technical journal variety." Stewart was enjoying his assignment, it was the easiest marine detail anyone could pull, after all, compared to patrols and escorts, how hard is babysitting 'the shape of things to come'? "Why don't I take her while you eat breakfast?"

"Sure," she handed him over and sat at the table. Stewart started making googoo faces at the baby.

"Private, do you know if Helo's coming by today?"

"I think he's out on a mission."

"Oh really, what's he's doing?"

"You know I can't tell you that." As much as he might enjoy his assignment, Stewart was still a Marine, he still had a duty.

"I know, just asking, when's Gina coming?"

"She couldn't make it today."

"Oh."

As Sharon was eating she reflected on her life. She was in a cell, with her newborn child and said child's bodyguard/caretaker. It was much better than she expected for someone of her position. In her opinion, except for the cell thing, life was good.

**0900 Hours**

**Racetrack and Blondie's Raptor**

**En route to Caprica**

**SAR Mission**

Racetrack and Sarah sat at the controls of their Raptor, in the back was Gina, running through the final preparations.

"Sarah, I'm all set back here."

"Okay then," she keyed her wireless, "All raptors prepare to jump on my count, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, jump."

The Raptors all jumped when they got to their destination Gina cursed, "Frak!"

"What is it?"

"We already lost one."

"Damnit, who?"

"Boomer and Helo."

"Okay then, we'll keep going, Sharon and Karl will have to find their own way home."

**0901 Hours**

**Boomer and Helo's Raptor**

**In Orbit of a Planet Capable of Sustaining Life inside a Nebula (AKA New Caprica)**

When Boomer and Helo blinked back into existence, they knew they were lost.

"Well, this isn't right."

"Please tell me something I don't know, Helo."

"I think there was some kind of glitch in the NavCon firmware, we are most definitely lost."

"Can we catch up to the rest of them?"

"Mission rules say we head back."

"It was the first jump! Frak me!"

"Um, don't think the Chief would like that."

"Shut up, Karl," she looks down at her navigational readings, "this is interesting, I'm picking up a planetary body."

"Where?"

Boomer dropped the nose of the Raptor, "there."

"And it just appeared out of nowhere?"

"There's so much DRADIS interference that you have to be right on top of the thing to notice it," she looked back down at the readings," Atmosphere is nitrogen/oxygen, organic molecular spectra, fresh water. It's habitable. We may have just found a world that can support human life."

Little did they know, they just found the worst mistake in the history of the human race.

**1100 Hours Caprica City Time**

**A Forest one Kilometer South of the Resistance Camp**

**Caprica**

**SAR Mission**

Sarah walked through the forest in full Marine gear with her two pistols out. They had just noticed movement nearby and she was hiding behind a log with Gina.

Racetrack called out, "You got a Samuel T. Anders there?"

To which the opposing group responded, "Is there a Kara Thrace there?" This was followed by a second voice, "If there is, you tell her she took her good, sweet time getting here."

Sarah mused that this must be the Anders guy Kara is always talking about.

The two groups jumped up to greet one another, Sarah and Gina hung back, they weren't sure how the resistance fighters would greet a pair of Cylons. Of course, this had its advantages. Gina looked up and shouted, "Incoming!" before throwing Sarah on her back and trying to shield her. After some shouting the group decided to fall back up the hill to a fortified position. When they got there Sarah tossed one of her pistols to Gina and they started returning fire. Gina took this opportunity to scold her sister.

"Why the hell did you come here?"

"Why shouldn't I?

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're pregnant?"

"I'm pregnant, not an invalid!"

"Still, it's not one of your smarter decisions, sister."

By this time the rest of the group had reached the summit, and the Cylons had stopped shooting.

"Why did they stop," Star buck asked.

Everyone looked at Sarah, "Not a clue, this whole thing is off book. The Cylon plan was simple. The plan was nine months ago the whole world blows up, and it's done. For all their wisdom the Cylons never planned for the mop up except some little things like reproduction farms."

Anders shrugged, "What do we do now?"

"We do the same thing we always do, fight them 'till we can't."

"Some plan; you're supposed to be the outside the box thinker here, Kara."

**18 Hours Later**

**A Fortified Hill**

**Caprica**

Sarah was tired of waiting. Not physically, she and Gina were fine, but waiting was as boring as hell.

Starbuck was looking antsy as well, "Major, what do you think?"

"Get a recon crew together. We'll scout the area and figure out what's going o n out there."

"Yes, sir."

Sarah led the group out, what they saw surprised them.

"They're gone."

Starbuck and Racetrack had point, Gina and Sarah were behind her, behind them were the rest of the marines.

Cavil stepped out, "Thank the gods! It's a miracle, let us pray."

As one, Sarah and Gina spun and shot him in the head, holstered their weapons and muttered, "Incestuous bastard!" When they realized what they were doing, they looked at each other and giggled.

Starbuck was confused, "Mind sharing with the class, ladies?"

"Meet John Cavil, a Number One model Cylon. His model sort of has a thing for other Cylons, hence the incestuous bastard phrase. I was quite peeved when I remembered he was a Cylon."

"Really, why?" Racetrack wanted details.

"I had a brief relationship with him about a year before I was sent to _Galactica_. I broke it off because he was a vain and rude bastard. Of course, at the time he neglected to mention he was my brother."

"Oh," Racetrack was suddenly looking a little sick.

Starbuck rolled her eyes, "If you have finished compensating for your non-existent sex life with gossip, Margaret, we do have a rescue to effect."

Everyone laughed and started walking back toward the Raptors. Sarah motioned to a couple of Marines to get Cavil's body, and then she walked up to Racetrack.

"Lieutenant."

Margaret sighed she was about to get chewed out by the Major again, why couldn't she get anything right with that woman, "Yes, sir."

"On the way back to orbit we will be making a brief pit stop."

"Where, sir?"

"My apartment, do you remember the extra crates I had the Chief put on our raptor."

"Yes, sir, I figured they were for vegetables or something."

"No, they are for books, Margaret. I find the reading selection on _Galactica_ to be rather lacking. Besides, we probably won't be coming back here; we need to save as much of our heritage as we can."

"I agree."

**1100 Hours, the Next Day**

**Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The Raptor door opened and several deckhands ran out to grab the crates of books Sarah brought back, she directed them to take the boxes to her office; she'd put them on her bookshelves later.

The Chief then noted a body bag, "Who's that?"

"John Cavil, a Cylon."

Galen's eyes widened and he unzipped the bag, "Frak."

"What Chief?"

"He looks exactly like the priest onboard in our temple."

"Wait, there was a Cylon onboard since the attacks and no one knew?"

Gina jumped in, "Well, the only four aboard that could identify them are you, Sharon, and me. You're an Atheist, Sharon's cell is not exactly conducive to company, Boomer doesn't even know what a Cylon looks like, and I really haven't gone anywhere other than the CIC, your office, the War Room, Sharon's cell, and here.

Sarah smirked, "Well, as second officer, I should know everyone aboard the ship. Let's go meet our preacher, shall we?"

Sarah quickly assembled a Marine Detachment led by Sergeant Harder, they entered the temple and went to the corner that contained the priest's quarters. They were shocked by what they saw. A young boy, no older than 10 was on the floor, dead, a pool of blood centered on his torso. There was a bloody knife on the bed next to him. Lying on the bed was Cavil with a plate of apple slices; he held them out and offered them to the marines.

"Apple?"

Sarah barely resisted drawing her sidearm and shooting him right then and there.

**2100 Hours, the Next Day**

**President Roslin's Office**

_**Colonial One**_

"Where does this go?"

Laura looked up at the object Sarah was holding, it was a picture of a firefighter after the attack; it had hung on her office wall since the first few days she took office.

"I was thinking about leaving it for Baltar."

"Don't, he'll probably just throw it out in favor of a picture of himself."

Laura laughed, "That he would, just put it in with the rest of the stuff."

Sarah nodded; there wasn't much stuff to get rid of anyway, only a large crate of personal items, "where will you go?"

"New Caprica, they'll need a teacher, you?"

"I'm not going anywhere. Bill will never leave _Galactica_, besides, it is my museum."

Laura laughed, "Maybe one day, I'll bring a class up there on a field trip."

"I take it Sherman's going to join you?"

"Yep, he'll be setting up a clinic," Laura sighed and plopped into one of the comfy seats, "You know, I actually considered rigging the election."

This was news to Sarah, "Really?"

"For all of two minutes, I suggested it to Billy before he tore into me about sinking to the level of Baltar and his little tart."

"Oh, is that the name this week?" The campaign's running joke was to develop derogatory nicknames for Tory Foster, Baltar's campaign manager and, suspected, bed warmer.

"Yep, we're saving whore for when he actually sleeps with her. You know Billy's staying on?"

"Really?"

"Yep, he's going to be the, 'Official Government Representative to the Fleet,' well, what's left of the fleet after Baltar deals with it. Do you think Baltar's doing the right thing, settling?"

"No, the Cylons will find us, I all but guarantee it. We tried this before, hiding in a nebula. It was called Ragnar Anchorage. Remember it?"

"How could I forget where this whole frakkin' adventure started? Now at least, it's someone else's problem."

**Unknown Time**

**Baseship Command**

**Unknown Cylon Baseship**

**Somewhere in Resurrection Range of **_**Galactica**_

John Cavil was standing in the Command Center trying to figure out what to do next. He wanted to go after humanity immediately. However, Caprica Six, a "hero" of the war, insisted that it would be better to go their separate ways from their parents, as in Humanity. Of course, she had no idea that the Final Five, their real parents, were with the humans.

Leoben walked in, "The Raider reported back."

"And?"

"They are settling the planet, should we engage?"

Cavil though for a moment, before making a decision that surprised even himself, "No, we'll wait, let them settle, then we'll jump in and catch humanity with its pants down."

**One Year Later**

**0800 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Day 380 of Orbital Defense Patrol**

_Colonel_ Sarah Inviere-Adama, Executive Officer of the Battlestar _Galactica_ awoke with a smile on her face and turned around to face her husband.

"Good Morning, Bill."

"Morning, dear, how are you this morning?"

"Good and yourself?"

"Good."

Then there came some crying from the other room.

"I see that Joseph is up."

Sarah slipped into her robe and walked out to the other room, where her son was in a crib, "and good morning to you too, Joseph. How's the greatest boy in the universe today?"

Joseph just cooed. Sarah quickly fed and dressed him before heading back to her own room to put her uniform on. She and Bill quickly kissed and left their quarters. She was carrying Joseph down to the nursery, formerly known as Sharon's cell. Even though Sharon moved out several months ago, the cell was still the most secure place on the ship.

On her way she had run into Dee, who was taking her slightly younger daughter, Jennifer Keikeya, to daycare.

"Morning, Dee."

"Good Morning, Colonel."

"You're still running in the morning, Dee?"

"Well, some of us have to work to get rid of our pregnancy weight," Dee laughed.

Sarah smiled, Jennifer had a very good effect on her young Communications Officer, it mellowed her out, made her happier, and ironically, she was a lot less stressed over the future.

They both dropped the children off with Corporal Jaffee, who had stayed on as the Daycare's chief of security and Maya, a civilian who was hired to act as caretaker to the children.

Sarah walked back toward the CIC with a notepad out, making notes of everything that had to be taken care of on the ship, broken doors, burnt out lights, that sort of thing. Keeping the ship in good condition was important to morale. Sarah finally arrived at the CIC and her, very unorthodox, staff.

"Good Morning, Mrs. Gaeta, sitrep, please." Gina Gaeta (nee Inviere) was one of the two civilians that put in time in the CIC. Gina took over her husband's old post as Tactical Officer.

"Soup like always, sis."

"Billy?"

"The ship _continues_ to remain in stable orbit above New Caprica." Billy Keikeya, occasionally put in time as the Galactica's helmsmen, to give him time to spend with his wife.

"Dee?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, just a request for more civilians to go to the surface oh, and a request for antibiotics from Doc Cottle."

"Request denied, no one else wants to go to the surface," Billy responded.

"Request denied on those antibiotics too, they are supposed to be making their own," Sarah responded, while she would have liked to give those to the civilians down on the surface, they honestly couldn't spare them.

Dee nodded and contacted the surface.

Then, Bill walked in with Captain Felix Gaeta, _Galactica's _second officer.

"Oh, and President Baltar wants marines to come and deal with the workers union."

"How many marines do we have?"

"Just over 150 spread across the whole fleet."

"And how many police officers does New Caprica City have?"

"Um, about 500 at last count."

"Request denied, Mr. Gaeta, the local forces are more than capable of handling the situation."

"Aye, Sir."

Sarah then handed Felix the list that she had made earlier, "see that the Chief gets that."

"Yes, Colonel."

"How is he, Felix?"

"Same as yesterday, Sarah, Boomer is worse though."

"Damn, I've tried talking to her. I thought that being CAG would keep her mind off of it."

"Being CAG these days is not a very demanding job, she'd be hard pressed to not think about her miscarriage. Don't see it as a failure on your part, you are still the best councilor humanity has. These things need time to get over."

"It might be better if Cottle had been able to come up with something other than an inconclusive autopsy."

"Yes, sir." Felix turned and left.

Thus ended the morning ritual on board the Battlestar _Galactica_. Normally, after this the day would get even more boring, unfortunately, today was a more interesting day.

"Um, Sarah, you better have a look at this." Sarah walked over to the Tactical Station, where Gina was squinting at her DRADIS screen.

"What is it?"

"There's an intermittent DRADIS signal, can't see a thing through this soup, but it's there."

Sarah squinted at the Dradis screen, until she didn't need to. Eight Cylon Baseships had just jumped into the system.

"Frak! Gina sound Action Stations," Sarah turned back to the command table, "Bill!"

"I see it, Frak."

**0830 Hours**

**New Caprica**

Everyone would remember what they were doing when the Raiders started screaming over the surface

Kara Thrace-Anders and Sam Anders were sleeping. Sam had pneumonia. Their sleep was interrupted by Leoben coming in and kidnapping Kara.

Laura Roslin-Cottle stepped out of her school tent, while her husband, Sherman Cottle, stepped out of his clinic.

A very pregnant Cally Costanza was holding a workers union meeting with her Husband, Brendan "Hot Dog" Costanza.

President Gaius Baltar and his assistant Tory Foster, were in bed, not sleeping though, when the Raiders flew over _Colonial One_.

**The Same Time**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Still in Orbit of New Caprica**

"All decks _finally _report Condition One, should we launch the alert fighters?"

Bill looks down at the phone where he was talking to his son and Lieutenant Hoshi, the Commander and XO of Pegasus.

"No, spin up the FTL Drive, we're leaving. But we'll be back."

Sarah turns to Dee and mutters to her, "send the message."

**A Few Minutes Later**

**President Baltar's Office**

_**Colonial One**_

**On the Surface of New Caprica**

"'We told you so, we're leaving, see you in hell fraker, signed the Adamas?' What the Frak!"

Baltar's tantrum was interrupted by the arrival of the Cylon leaders. Suffice it to say, he was a bit shocked to see Caprica-Six with them.

"How did you find us?"

Number One raised his hand, "when you airlocked me a year ago, I knew where New Caprica was. But we decided to wait, let you get comfortable, then show up."

Caprica-Six interjected, "As long as you don't resist, you won't be harmed."

Number one then cut over her, "Not that you have any choice."

Baltar paused for a moment, "Very well, o n behalf of the people of the Twelve Colonies, I surrender."

AN: Please Review, thank you to those who have

AN2: This story will be going on a brief hiatus while I work on my Harry Potter story.


	20. The Low Point

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Occupation" and "Precipice"

AN: Sage 1988, an anonymous reviewer brought up two questions that I might have not clearly addressed in the last chapter.

Boomer really did have a miscarriage, it was not any sort of secret plan to hide one of the (many) up and coming "shapes of things to come." Her miscarriage was included in the story because it is natural to assume she and the Chief would eventually try to have children. Cottle couldn't determine the cause of the miscarriage, simply because I couldn't out the Chief as a Final Five Cylon yet. The miscarriage was caused because of the incompatibility of Significant Seven and Final Five DNA, similar to the (assumed) cause of Caprica Six's miscarriage.

The XO of Pegasus is Lieutenant Louis Hoshi.

Chapter 20

The Low Point

**1600 Hours**

**War Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**134 Days after The Fleet leaves**

Bill and Sarah are standing around the War Room table, looking at models and thinking.

"It's not going to work, Bill. Creating decoys will draw away the Baseships just long enough to get us to New Caprica, but not long enough for the Vipers to get to the surface; they'll be fighting Raiders the whole way down."

Bill grabs one of the models and throws it, scattering the others, before leaving, slamming the door shut behind him. Sarah sighs,

"Damn, where's Starbuck when you need her?"

**1600 Hours**

**The "Apartment" of Kara Thrace and Leoben Conoy**

**New Caprica Detention Center**

**New Caprica City, New Caprica**

Starbuck was dealing with problems of her own. Suffice it to say, she hated Leoben. She actually killed him on a regular basis. Unfortunately, he just keeps coming back. This time, she stabbed him with chopsticks. She calmly sits down and starts eating her dinner again. She stops for a moment when a thought comes to her, "After this is over, Sarah better clear her schedule, because I'm going to need a hell of a lot of therapy."

**1600 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Drone Training Mission number 16**

Sarah followed Bill into the CIC, where they are monitoring a training exercise. Of course, it gets messed up. One of Kat's (the Viper wing commander) Vipers falls out of formation and the Drones go all over the place.

Boomer contacted the ship, _"Galactica, Boomer, we've got drones going every which way out here, request instructions?"_

Dee, responded, "Boomer, Galactica, recover the drones and come on home, you're about bingo fuel anyway."

Bill countered her orders, "Belay that, dispatch the tanker bird, they can practice in flight refueling before recovering the drones and trying again."

Dee was about to relay his orders when Sarah interceded, "Dee, wait." She turned to Bill, "Bill, they have been out there for the past _eighteen_ hours. Running the exercise again will not help. We have to find out what's wrong and fix it before running the exercise again!"

Bill looked at her eyes and saw how serious she was, and groaned, "Fine, Dee, recall the birds. Colonel, come with me." Bill leads her back to his office where he yells and throws all the papers on his desk on the floor. Sarah walks over to him and gently holds him.

"Bill, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. I've got a horrible crew and a CAG who can't seem to get her job done."

"Bill, everyone is trying the best they can, you have to calm down."

"Maybe I should replace Boomer with Kat, maybe that would get the job done."

"Doing that would destroy her, Bill."

"Well, I can't worry about one person when I have the entire _frakkin'_ human race to consider, Sarah."

"Bill, listen to me, this is what you are going to do. You are going to sit here and calm down and then you are going to talk to Sharon. You know what she is going through; you know the pain, the guilt, the anguish of losing a child. Talk to her, Bill. I've tried, but I just can't get through to her."

Sarah hugged him again, gave him a kiss on the cheek and left.

**1800 Hours**

**A Street**

**New Caprica City**

**New Caprica**

Caprica-Six was not in a good mood. She hadn't been for some time now. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to. She had hoped that Cylons and Humans could coexist peacefully on New Caprica. But she was the only model, hell, she was the only _Six_ that thought that. The other models, they didn't even try, they were just about dedicated to the destruction of humanity from the first day they got here and thousands were now dead. The humans were just as dedicated to the destruction of Cylons, they were burning through bodies.

Of course, Cylons really couldn't die. The only one she was worried about was Gaius Baltar.

She had no idea what she saw in that man. She saw the impossible position he was put in. But, she hated him, him and that little whore of his, Tory. Although, in these past few months, she had seen an improvement in him, at least that he was seeing more of her and less of Tory.

Caprica-Six kicked over a dog bowl and placed the plans for the New Caprica Police graduation ceremony in the designated drawer. She would make sure that Gaius didn't attend for security reasons. She calmly walked away, back towards the warmth of _Colonial One._

**1800 Hours**

_**Galactica's**_** Secure Daycare Facility (formerly the Cylon Brig)**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Boomer walked into the observation area surrounding the Daycare. Inside she could see Mya playing with the children while Corporal Jaffee kept watch. Admiral Adama came in behind her and shut the hatch.

"Hello, Captain."

"Sir."

Adama smiled and watched Joseph play, he was rather proud of his son. Then he looked over at Dee's kid, Jennifer, who still seemed to be getting bigger every day.

"Mya tells me you spend a lot of time here."

"Yes, sir. I like to imagine what could have been, if, if he was actually born."

"Do you know what happened?"

"No, sir, Doctor Cottle's report was 'inconclusive.'"

"I know what you're going through Sharon. I know what it feels like to lose a son. It is horrible, terrible, the worst feeling you could ever experience."

"How did you get over it, sir?"

"You never do, the pain fades in time, but every day, you wake up remembering," he turns Sharon toward him and places his arms on her shoulders, "the best thing you can do right now is focus on what can be, not what could have been. The best way to cope is move forward."

"A year ago, when you gave me this job, I was surrounded in my own guilt. I was angry at myself. I blamed myself. I still have, I wish I could just go and cry and abandon the rest of the world, but I can't Sir, I owe you a lot more than I can ever repay. We will get those drones in place, the plan will work."

"I need you to attend our planning meeting tomorrow morning. We're getting a sitrep from the surface then."

"Yes, sir."

**0900 Hours, the Next Day**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**New Caprica Rescue Planning Session**

Bill, Sarah, the Chief, Boomer, Dee, Billy, Felix, Gina, Lee, and Lt. Hoshi all sat around the Adama's sitting room looking over various reports. They were getting nowhere. Sarah decided to take a step back and review. She starts pacing

"Let's go back to school, shall we, a five paragraph order. Situation: We have two under-strength Battlestars and 1,500 ground support units, our enemy is a superior force that is occupying the planet, there are between 30-40,000 civilians and numerous civilian ships. Objective: Evacuate the civilians and ground support units on civilian ships. Requirements: we need to distract the Cylons long enough for the civilian craft to get off the ground and jump to the rendezvous point. In order to get the civilian craft off the ground we need the launch keys. Now, it's time to plan the execution."

"Can we make our own launch keys?"

"No, they're too complicated; we don't have the materials or equipment to do it."

"Can we give the resistance weapons and have them find the launch keys?"

"No, they would know we were in contact with the surface ruining our chances of getting anywhere near the planet."

"Well then, how do we get the Launch Keys?"

"Why don't we send a Cylon in to get them?"

Gina nods, "Yes, the Centurions are programmed to not distinguish the various humanoid models. The question is, 'who to send?'"

Everyone looks at Sarah.

"Oh, no, Gina and I look nothing like the rest of the Sixes. We would stick out like sore thumbs. However," she looks at Sharon, "the Eights all look the same."

Bill nods, "we should send both of them; after all, 'there are many copies.'"

"Wait, what?"

"I think we should send both Sharons to the surface."

'

**1200 Hours**

**A Raptor**

**En Route to Breeders Canyon, New Caprica**

**MarDet in support of Resistance forces**

Bill's plan to send Sharon Agathon along had caught on with the rest of the planning group, better odds, that sort of thing. This led to the newly minted Lieutenant Sharon Agathon co-piloting a Raptor filled with Marines down to the surface, along with Captain Sharon Tyrrol and their ECO, Lieutenant Karl Agathon.

It was hard for Sharon to leave the ship, to leave Hera. It was harder for both of them to leave, knowing there was a fairly good chance they wouldn't come back.

_**Flashback**_

_**1130 Hours**_

**Galactica's **_**Secure Daycare Facility**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_Sharon and Karl held Hera for the last time, before handing him over to Corporal Jaffee. Sharon had grown close to Stewart in her captivity, she knew she could trust him._

_ "Stewart, if we don't come back, if something happens to us, please, look after, Hera."_

_ "I'm sure you'll be fine, sir."_

_ "Stewart, you and Mya are the only ones I trust to look after her, so please, do it for me?"_

_ "I'd be honored to, Sharon."_

_End Flashback. _

Now, Sharon forced the thoughts of her daughter out of her head. If she wanted to come back from this, she had to focus.

Boomer muttered, "Hell knows why the old man gave you a uniform?"

Sharon responded in a louder voice, "Well hell knows why the old man didn't airlock you airlock you after you_ tried to kill him!"_

Boomer escalated, "Well hell knows why—"

Helo decided to shut this down before they ended up crashing, "Hey, do I have to come up there and separate you, or can you please _shut up_ and work out your problems on your own time!"

Both the women were sufficiently chastised to shut up for the rest of the flight.

After landing on the planet, greeting the resistance and starting to plan their way into the city, they both heard something. They had enough time to think, "oh, frak," and dive for cover; before a bunch of centurions started shooting at them. The Sharon's both groaned. One asked the other, "Why is it that every time we land on a frakkin' planet we end up getting ambushed?"

The other responded, "I don't know but I am _really _starting to hate centurions."

AN2: Please review, thanks to those who have.

AN3: Welcome to season three, while I have the rest of the New Caprica arc planned out, there are a number of loose ends that have to be cleaned up. What should I do with Caprica Six (now that she's a traitor), Tory (now that she's a traitor also, and a Final Five), and Kasey (as in should I make Kara a mother, or have Kasey's mother survive)?


	21. The Adama Maneuver

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Exodus"

Chapter 21

The Adama Maneuver

**1215 Hours**

**Breeders Canyon**

**New Caprica**

Sergeant Brandy Harder did not like the plan, there were too many variables, the terrain was unfamiliar, and it was frakkin' freezing. She missed _Galactica_, she had stayed with the ship, not for any particular reason, other than that it was familiar to her, it was safe (well, when not being boarded by Centurions.)

She was almost happy when the centurions attacked. Quickly she fell back into her element, giving orders, blowing stuff up, and shooting stuff. After the smoke died down she walked over to Captain Tyrol and Lieutenant Agathon, both of whom looked pissed.

"They were waiting for us, Captain, right where we thought."

Mr. Anders looked a bit more upset, "Ellen sold us out!"

"Wait, Ellen as in Ellen Tigh?"

"Yeah."

Everyone from _Galactica_ groaned, they really did not like Ellen Tigh.

Anders muttered, "Have to tell the Colonel, he'll deal with it."

"Yes someone has to tell Mr. Tigh."

Everyone nodded, no one wanted to tell him.

Boomer just shrugged and started walking in the general direction of New Caprica City, "Come on people, we have a rescue to affect here and we're burning daylight!"

**1600 Hours**

**A Hospital Room**

**Unknown Location**

**New Caprica City, New Caprica**

Kara looked at Kasey and sighed, this was entirely her fault; she should have been watching her daughter better.

_Her Daughter._

Now that was a thought. Kara _never_ expected to have children; she was rather scared about being a mother. But that day, in that hospital room, Kara made a promise to love her daughter and to be the best mother she could. She had to prove _her_ mother wrong.

**1700 Hours**

**War Room/ **_**de facto**_** office of Gina and Felix Gaeta**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Gina Gaeta was looking at her computer; tomorrow they'd be engaging the Cylons and Gina hoped to have a nice little surprise waiting for them. After a year and a half of work on it, they'd finally get a chance to try out her logic bomb.

The door creaked open and Gina barely glanced at it to see her husband walking in the door. Over the past year she had grown, a lot. She was no longer scared of her own shadow. She had conquered and moved past the demons that were her past experiences on the _Pegasus_.

It was all thanks to Felix. He taught her how to love again, that love was good, that feelings and humanity could be good as well as bad.

He taught her that sex wasn't just a control tool or a degrading experience, but that it was something wonderful, beautiful, it really was making love.

Of course, she hadn't wanted it at first. They didn't have sex when they got married, Felix was fine with that, very patient, and he said that their relationship would move at her speed.

When they finally did it, it was great, awesome, and they kept doing it.

This of course, led to her current predicament.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Felix moved behind her and gently wrapped his arms around her waist, while she was working. He gently kissed her ear.

"So the Old Man gave you the night off too?" The Admiral had given everyone the night off, saying it was important to be rested for tomorrow.

"Yeah, but I still had a bit more work to do, I'm done now though." Gina spun around and kissed her husband, "By the way, I have some good news."

"Good news?"

"Yeah, turns out that Cylons don't get sick. I didn't have the flu, I'm pregnant."

Felix stood back and looked at her, "Pregnant?"

"Yes, Felix, pregnant." Gina was getting worried, was there something wrong, did he not want a child, oh no, what if he hated her now, what if…

Her thoughts were abruptly cut off by Felix starting to stomp, jump, smile and laugh in some sort of convoluted jig.

"I'm going to be a Dad! I can't believe it!"

"So, you're okay with this."

"No, I'm not okay, I'm ecstatic, this is great!"

Gina smiled, then laughed, then hugged and kissed her husband.

Felix frowned for a moment, "Gina, if you're—"

Gina cut him off, "Don't you even suggest it Felix, I am _not_ leaving, this is my home, you, Sarah and everyone else is my family. Understood?"

"Yes, Mrs. Gaeta."

"Oh, I love you Mr. Gaeta."

Then they started kissing, again.

Life was good

**1700 Hours**

**Flight Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Helo, Bill and Sarah smiled and looked at the children. Joseph and Hera along with Corporal Jaffee and Mya were stepping into a raptor for the brief flight over to _Cloud 9_, where they would be staying during the attack. For obvious reasons, they were not going to bring children into the battle, especially if it ended up being a one-way trip.

They had nothing to say, there was nothing to say, all the good-byes had already been said.

A short distance away Billy and Dee Keikeya stood with their daughter, Jennifer.

"Dee, you know you don't have to do this, you could come with me and Jennifer."

It was true; the Admiral had told her that she could go with her family if she wanted to. Dee had declined.

"I want to Billy, but they need me here. Just like the Fleet needs you there."

"I know and that's why I love you Dee, just come back to me, okay."

"Billy, listen if something happens—"

"Dee—"

"No, just listen. If something happens to me, raise Jennifer just like we planned and find someone for yourself, be happy Billy, okay?"

"No, you _will_ come back to me, Dee, you will, because I don't know what I will do without you."

"Billy—"

"Just say, yes, Billy."

Dee sighed, "Yes, Billy."

"That's my wife."

"You better believe it."

Billy kissed Dee good-bye before stepping onto the Raptor with Jennifer, just as the doors were closing.

By this time, Bill had walked over to Lee they were discussing his orders.

"Eighteen hours, Dad, try not to be late."

"I may be slow, but I'll be there."

"I'll leave the porch light on."

They both chucked before Bill had suddenly turned serious again, "Lee, if anything happens to us, look after Joseph, please."

"You know I will, Dad."

They quickly hugged and Lee stepped onto his Raptor back to _Pegasus_.

**0800 Hours, The Next Day**

**The Marketplace**

**New Caprica City**

**New Caprica**

Sharon Tyrrol and Sharon Agathon were both dressed in the "typical" style for Eights, a white jacket, white undershirt and brown pants. As they walked through the city it was quite clear that the Cylons were not liked by the populous. They were muttered at, called toaters, metal whores, etc. It really shook them how much humanity hated the Cylons, they would have to file a report with the Colonel (Inviere-Adama) about this, humanity's new hatred for Cylons could definitely affect how the fleet feels about the friendly Cylons working with them.

They reached the Cylon complex and stepped between the two Centurions guarding the gate. The quickly arrived at the Cylon's version of a bank vault and retrieved the Launch Keys. However, before they could leave they were stopped by a Three.

"You!"

Both drew their guns and aimed at her.

Boomer called, "Left."

Lieutenant Agathon called, "Right."

They fired, blowing out the Three's kneecaps.

The Three screamed, "Damn you both, especially you," she pointed at Boomer, "you pathetic weakling. You couldn't even keep your baby, the future of the Cylon Race! You miscarried!"

Boomer was getting visibly agitated. Suprisingly, Sharon Agathon jumped to her defense, "Oh just shut the frak up! How many babies did the Cylons loose on Caprica? Oh, wait you couldn't even conceive any! So stop being jealous because we, the Cylons who sided with humanity, are having more luck than you! Come on, Captain, we have a race to save."

Boomer nodded, smirked at Three and left.

**1130 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The CIC staff just looked at each other and smiled. Gina was sitting at Tactical, Dee was at Communications, like always, and Felix was standing at the FTL Board.

The only one not smiling was Executive Officer Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama, Director of the now defunct _Galactica_ Museum. She was glowering at her husband, across the Command Table.

"Bill, you do realize this plan is crazy, right?"

"Yep."

"Not just crazy, it's insane."

"Yes, dear."

"Well fine, but you are going to make sure maintenance cleans _every_ scorch mark off the hull. Now, let's go save the human race."

Bill smiled and turned to Dee, "Dee, tell the raptors to launch the decoys."

"Aye, Sir."

Sarah muttered to Bill, "Let's hope they get it right this time."

"They better, or else this mission is over before it starts."

Gina called out, "Decoys away, DRADIS profiles match, the Cylons should be seeing two Battlestars."

"Now for the hard part, Mr. Gaeta, prepare to jump."

"Board is Green , Admiral, ready to jump."

Sarah picked up the phone, "Prepare to launch Blue squadron."

Bill also picked up a phone, "All hands, brace for turbulence. Jump."

After the jump was complete Galactica started hurdling through the atmosphere, leaving a trail of smoke and fire in its wake. Several things happened at once.

Gina called out, "We're at 99,000 feet and _falling like a rock_!"

Sarah shouted into the phone, "Launch all Vipers _now_!"

Felix ran over to the helm station and adjusted the controls, "Transferring emergency power to ventral thrusters, attempting to slow our decent!" When he was finished he ran back over to the FTL board.

Sarah got off the phone, "All Vipers are away! Captain Gaeta, put us on the roof!"

He counted down, snapping his fingers, "Aye, sir, in five, four, three, two, one, Emergency Jump!"

Galactica blinked out of the atmosphere and back into orbit.

**The Same Time**

**Near the New Caprica Detention Center**

**New Caprica City**

**New Caprica**

Colonel Saul Tigh (Colonial Fleet, Retired) looked up at the cloud of dust that was where Galactica was moments ago thinking, _That man is crazy!_ He would never admit to it, but it was the only time he and Sarah Inviere-Adama agreed on something.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city Former President Laura Roslin-Cottle was directing people to their evacuation sites, until her husband Doctor Sherman Cottle grabbed her arm and started dragging her toward the nearest ship, which happened to be _Colonial One_.

Laura shouted to him, "Sherman, I have to help those people back there!"

Sherman groaned, "Laura, you are getting off this planet now, even if I have to knock you out and drag your ass off it!"

"Yeah right, you're old smokers lungs can't handle the stress."

"Laura, I'll have you know that my lungs are in perfect shape." He started coughing.

The couple continued squabbling all the way up the gangplank and didn't stop until they realized that they had already jumped away from the planet.

**The Same Time**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The _Galactica_, suffice it to say, was getting shot to pieces. It turns out that there were four Baseships, instead of the expected two. Sarah was getting frustrated.

"Gina, can't you logic bomb them?"

"No, I can't. Someone," she glared at Bill, "damaged the Data Comm Antenna with their little atmospheric maneuver."

There was another particularly violent shake. Bill was helping Dee to patch a cable while Felix was looking at the Damage Control board.

"We've lost maneuvering thrusters. We can't take any more hits to port or we're looking at explosive decompressions in sections 36 through 48."

Bill turned to Sarah, "Jump Drive?"

She silently shook her head. Bill and Sarah quietly held hands and looked at the DRADIS screen that was spelling their doom.

Until, _Pegasus_ jumped in.

Lee's voice crackled over the wireless, "_Galactica, Pegasus_, let's take a little bit of work off your hands, just get your FTL drive on line and we'll take care of the rest!"

_Galactica's_ CIC staff started smiling again, except for Bill.

"Damn you, Lee!"

Sarah slapped her husband's arm, "No, not damn, thank, it's thank you, Lee. Besides, the poor kid probably can't read your handwriting."

Bill started laughing.

**1200 Hours**

**Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The hangar deck was packed with people, experiencing various feelings.

Sarah was jubilant, but groaning inside at the amount of paperwork she had to fill out.

Tory Foster was desperately trying to not be noticed.

Bill was welcoming everyone back with a smile and a handshake.

Billy Keikeya had just finished kissing his wife and handing Jennifer back to Dee, before greeting Laura Roslin with a hug and mutual tears.

The Chief, after kissing his wife with more enthusiasm than he had in a year, was happily directing traffic.

Saul Tigh was being a bit morose at the loss of his wife.

Lee Adama was being a bit morose at the loss of his ship. The _Pegasus_ had been destroyed in the battle, a sad, but necessary loss.

Kara Thrace was looking around, a small girl in tow.

Sarah walked over to her, "Who's this, Kara?"

"Well, this is—"

She looked around the hangar deck once more before lowering her voice, "This is Kasey, my daughter."

Sarah just merely raised an eyebrow before turning back to Kasey, "Well you better get her to Sickbay. Cottle's going to want to take a look at the daughter of the legendary Starbuck."

Kara smiled and walked off with Kasey.

Sarah turned and saw the crew hoisting Bill up and shouting, "Adama! Adama!" She just smiled.

Life was good.

AN: Please review, Thanks to those who have.

AN 2: And now, a little trivia challenge, who can identify what movies these two sets of lines came from:

"Transferring emergency power to ventral thrusters, attempting to slow our decent."

And

"… Captain Gaeta, put us on the roof."

He counted down, snapping his fingers, "Aye, sir, in five, four, three, two, one, Emergency Jump!"

AN3: Who, if anyone, should Sarah fight in "Unfinished Business" ?


	22. Aftermath, Again

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Collaborators"

AN: Congratulations to everyone who got the questions right. They were indeed from _Star Trek Generations _and _The Hunt for Red October_, respectively.

Chapter 22

Aftermath, Again

**1000 Hours**

**Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Three Days after the Exodus from New Caprica**

Sarah had a headache. A very bad headache. A headache that appeared in the form of personnel issues. Specifically that she now had so many people that wanted their jobs back on _Galactica_.

_Galactica's_ maximum complement is about 3,500 officers and crew. Prior to settling on New Caprica, _Galactica_ was running at a full capacity of 2,600, while _Pegasus _had about 1,650 officers and crew, mostly of lower rank, after Sarah's "culling." This left Sarah with a surplus of 750 people plus an unknown number of spouses and children. She had to trim the list.

The Children were admitted to the _Galactica _Daycare facility, which is still centered in the old Cylon Cell, but has now expanded into observation area around the cell. Of course some of the parents complained about having their children in the same room as "toaster hybrids." However, seeing that Hera and Joseph were there first, the parents were politely refused access to the daycare and then the complaining parents names were passed along to Sarah, who would then reject their pending applications.

Somehow, the applications for 4,250 military officers found their way to her desk, and she had to approve every last one of them. So the easy part was weeding out the people on the, "_Pegasus_ Blacklist," a list compiled from Lieutenant Thorne's logs about Gina's torture and rape. None of the names on that list would ever see _Galactica's_ halls.

Two of the folders she came across shocked her, Gage and Vireem, the two specialist idiots that assaulted her, who should be back on the _Astral Queen_, since the fleet has not "got where it's going" yet. As much as she wanted to track them down herself, she couldn't, so she did a very bureaucratic thing, she delegated.

She turned to the other desk, which had temporarily taken the place of her beloved therapy couch, "Mr. Hoshi."

Lieutenant Louis Hoshi, former XO of the Battlestar _Pegasus_, had been assigned as Sarah's assistant for the, "Fleet Reintegration Process," or as Sarah preferred to call it, "Cleaning up after Humanity." So, he sat at a desk, mostly informing the people Sarah approved that they had jobs, and telling the people who didn't to get the frak off _Galactica_, if they were on board, or passing them off to the Civilian equivalents, if they were not. "Yes, Colonel."

"Find Specialists Gage and Vireem, and make sure they are _escorted_ back to the _Astral Queen_."

"Yes, Sir." He picked up his phone and started dialing.

Sarah sighed and turned back to her stack of folders and applications, she briefly let her thoughts wander to Boomer and how the Captain was doing on her special mission.

**1005 Hours**

**Ruins of New Caprica City**

**New Caprica**

Captain Sharon "Boomer" Tyrol sighed as she looked at the latest manifest updates, she really did not want to be here. She would much rather be back on Galactica and away from the desolate rock. She remembered how they got here in the first place.

Twenty-four hours after leaving a recon Raptor was sent back to New Caprica to see what the current status of the Cylon Fleet was. The Raptor returned, with surprising results, specifically in two areas.

The Cylons left New Caprica.

They didn't nuke the place.

This led to an interesting mission. Sharon was ordered to lead a group of Raptors, shuttles and cargo ships being sent back to New Caprica to rescue people left behind and attempt to recover Colonial supplies in a set order of priority: food, ammunition, Books and government papers, equipment, tents and banners, and personal effects. They were given a strict deadline of 48 hours.

All in all, Sharon felt the mission went well. They recovered 175 people who were left behind when the ships left, they got the city's entire salvageable supply of food (the refrigeration had been off since the power plant was destroyed the day before the battle), plenty of ammunition (the Cylons apparently kept the New Caprica Police armory well stocked), and the books Sarah insisted on. Now they just had to pack up the tents and they could go.

**2200 Hours**

**Unknown Location off the Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Secret meeting of The Circle **

Saul Tigh, Sam Anders, Dianne Seelix, Jean Barolay, Charlie Conner, and Brendan Costanza sat around a table talking about the latest case to reach them, Tory Foster.

Seelix brought the issue, "Next case, Tory Foster, the charges are collaborating with the enemy and crimes against humanity."

Conner responded, "She was Chief of Staff to Gaius Baltar, that alone is enough to convict her, besides, she was frakkin' him."

Hotdog quipped, "If frakkin' Gaius Baltar is a crime, then we're going to have to execute have the women in the fleet."

Anders head slapped him, "Not now, Hotdog. My problem is that we have no hard evidence on her. We got no witnesses, nothing. All we know is that she worked for Baltar, that's it."

Hotdog nodded, rubbing his head, "Yeah, I got to go with Sam on this one. We need something specific."

Tigh started raising his voice, "You want specific? You think Baltar ran things? That guy? He was the public face, but Foster – she was the brains. Everyone knew that. She ran the operation. She did the paperwork. She approved the death lists."

Hotdog interjected, "How do you know that? Were you there? Did you see her approve a single death list?"

"She knew Cally was on a death list."

"What are you talking about? How do you know that?"  
He handed Hotdog a piece of paper, "Look there. That's a distribution list and there's Cally's name. And there's Foster's name. She saw her execution order."

Anders interjected, "It's all circumstantial. We don't know what Foster did or didn't do when she saw that list."

Barolay spoke up, "I have to go with them on this one."

"Jean!"

"No, Sam, you see a death list like that, you know innocent people are gonna die, and you do nothing about it? She's guilty."

Conner, the impatient bastard calls, "I call the question."

Seelix, the secretary replies, "The question on the guilt or innocence of Tory Foster has been called. The Circle will now vote. I vote guilty."

Conner: "Guilty."

Tigh: "Guilty."

Barolay: "Guilty."

Sam: "No, don't bother, I'm done."

"We're still voting."

"I'm not, I'm done with this whole thing. War's over for me. I'm sorry." He leaves.

"Okay, that's fine. Still four to one, Hotdog, what's your vote?"

"No, wait, we need a sixth person."

"No, screw that."

"No, screw you! We're a jury. That's how it was set up. We need six votes. We don't have six votes, I'm out too. "

"I agree, we need six."

**0800 Hours, The Next Morning**

**Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Louis Hoshi came into the office, which was still filled with files, although considerably less than yesterday. Sarah had been up all night working on them and silently thanked her Cylon physiology. She had just finished stamping "REJECTED" on Sergeant Hadrian's application (no, I don't need that witch hunting bitch back on my ship). She looked up to see Louis Hoshi standing over her handing her a cup of coffee.

"Thank you, Mr. Hoshi. What time is it?"

"0800, Sir."

"Wow, and how is our fine ragtag fleet doing today?"

"Not well, we've gotten a rash of missing persons investigations over the past few days. Thirteen, as of this morning."

"Well we left a lot of people on New Caprica."

"No, sir, these are people that were seen after the battle by multiple people. For example, deckhand James "Jammer" Lyman reported for duty two days ago but missed muster yesterday, bunk empty, sickbay empty, it's like he left the ship."

"Hmm, and you're sure he didn't leave the ship?"

"Positive."

"Hmm, this could be a problem. Cross reference the missing people with the records Boomer retrieved from New Caprica. See if you can find a pattern."

"Yes, sir."

**1000 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Sarah was sitting in a chair across from Kara in her temporary therapy office (seeing that her regular office was overrun with paper).

Kacey sat in a corner, playing with some toys that had been recovered from New Caprica.

"So, Kacey is not your daughter?"

"No, Yes, I don't know."

"You're conflicted?"

"Obviously."

"Well biologically she isn't yours, Julia Brynn died on New Caprica"

"No, she's not, turns out that she was just another Cylon trick."

"Well then, why are you still attached to her?"

"I don't know, I just can't abandon her."

"Actually, yeah, you could, but you won't."

"I won't and I don't know why."

"Because you care about her."

"Yeah."

"You don't want to see any harm come to her, you want her to have a good life."

"Yeah."

"Well then you could be her mother."

"But I can't be a mother."

"Why?"

"I'd be a terrible mother."

"Why, because of what your mother did to you?"

"Yes, exactly!"

"Would you ever consider hurting Kacey like that, Kara? Would you beat her continuously, would you break her fingers by slamming them in a door jamb?"

"No, of course not, but I'm afraid that I'll do something, that I'll lose my temper. Besides, I'm a Viper jock, my job is fraught with danger."

"Yes parenting can and will try your temper, trust me I know. But, it is also one of the greatest experiences you can have. That is something you learned, when Kacey banged her head on New Caprica. Oh, and about the danger, all our jobs are fraught with danger."

"Besides that, I hate my life, I am so, so angry."

"Yes, I can understand that, after your captivity and the rest, but you can't go on killing Kara."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!"

"Oh yes, you could go on killing, but it will destroy you, it will make you a shell. And where will that leave Kacey?"

"Kacey will probably be better off without me."

"No, she won't, with you, she has someone, without you, she has no one."

"Okay, well what about Sam?"

"The question is, will Sam accept Kacey and you? You have to look back at your relationship with Sam, find out why it started, does it have a solid foundation? I can't help you there."

"I, I just don't know what to do."

"Spend some time here with your daughter, Kara. I have got a stack of paperwork calling my name."

And Kara did that, she spent the next few hours with Kasey, and in those few hours she finally knew love.

**2000 Hours**

**Unknown Location off the Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Another secret meeting of The Circle**

Starbuck was surprised by the group, apparently exercising justice over the fleet, "But this is all illegal, right."

"No, it isn't." They hand her a copy of Tory Foster's signed death warrant.

"You have got to be kidding me?" They actually got the president to sign off on this, but something's off.

"So are you in, or out."

"In."

She took her time, and looked over the evidence. Although she may have been a Viper Jock, she had enough legal sense to determine the idea of circumstantial evidence. One of those half baked, out of the box plans that seemed to miraculously work started forming in her head.

"I vote Guilty."

"The vote is five for guilty, Hotdog, your vote."

Hotdog looks at his mentor, Starbuck, who seems to be silently pleading with him to follow her lead, he does, "Guilty."

Suddenly Sam bursts in, "I'd like to talk to my wife, please."

Kara sighs and follows him out, "Fine."

"You know I left because I didn't need to find ways to _keep killing people_."

"I know what I'm doing, Sam," Kara hissed.

"Really, what would Kacey think of this?"

"I'd like her to think I was doing the right thing."

"Kara…"

"Stop, just stop, go now Sam," she shoves him, she doesn't have time for this, "Go now!"

"Fine," he tears off her dogtag that he wore around his neck and threw it at her, before stomping off.

Kara sighs, she'll deal with him later; in the meantime she goes across the hanger deck into the chief's office. She picks up the phone and dials.

"Colonel, it's Kara. We have a problem."

**2030 Hours**

**A Corridor**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

As The Circle kidnaps Tory Foster for her execution, Sarah runs across the ship from her office to the Launch Tubes. She finally gets there just in time to see them dragging Foster in to the Launch Tube. She hides behind a pillar and draws her sidearms before calmly walking into the Launch Tube.

"Tory Foster, you have been tried and found guilty of crimes against humanity by a circle of your peers, as duly authorized by the President of the Colonies."

"Well, someone forgot to send me a memo about it."

They turn as one to see Sarah pointing guns at them, Most are shocked, Conner's pissed, and Kara and Tory look relived.

"So I'm guessing that this little tea party is responsible for the report of thirteen missing people that crossed my desk this morning."

Some of them nodded.

"Someone want to explain what's going on here?"

"President Zarek—"

"Wow, it must have hurt to say that, Saul."

"—authorized us to carry out sentences against people accused of collaborating with the Cylons."

"Uh, huh, right, okay, this is what we are going to do. Captain Thrace, release Miss Foster and get both the Presidents and the Admiral in the Wardroom. The rest of us are going to meet them there, where we will settle the legal issues at hand. Any questions?"

There were no questions, just stupidity on the part of Charlie Conner, "You bitch! These people killed my son, _they killed my son_! I will have my revenge, and if you stand in my way _I will kill you_!" Conner then ran at Sarah, who calmly flipped one of the guns in her hand and pistol whipped the idiot.

"Okay, change in plans, Mr. Tigh and Mr. Costanza, you will carry Mr. Conner up to the Wardroom. Kara, you will make sure that Doctor Cottle also meets us in the wardroom, I don't want this idiot dying from a concussion."

A few minutes later, they were all gathered in the Wardroom, where Doc Cottle reported that Conner had indeed suffered a concussion and that he was stupid for attacking a woman holding two guns.

"Well, my first idea was to shoot him, but I felt that was overkill," Sarah remarked.

Then, they started arguing with Tom Zarek about the legality of the whole issue.

"It's all perfectly legal. You'll find a signed executive order o n file authorizing a secret jury of six men and women to try, sentence, and execute people guilty of extraordinary crimes while collaborating with the enemy in a time of war. There's also a death warrant with my signature for every conviction."

Sarah snorted, "Oh, it's perfectly legal, my ass, the president can't sign death warrants, people are entitled to a trial by their peers, which you sort of gave them, and they a right to representation, which you did not give them. You just loopholed your way into murdering thirteen people."

"Hey, Gaius Baltar signed death warrants."

"Oh great, you're comparing your presidency to Gaius Frakkin' Baltar?"

Roslin stepped in, "This ends now, we are going to forget this ever happened, there is to be no more Circle, no more vigilantism, am I clear?"

Everyone grudgingly nodded.

"Good."

**1000 Hours, The Next Morning**

**Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

This morning, Sarah had to meet with Saul Tigh, to see if he was ready to take over the position of Executive Officer so Sarah could go back to doing, well, what she normally did. Unfortunately, she didn't think she could clear him for duty.

"So, Mr. Tigh, before I sign off on your reinstatement papers I have a few questions."

Saul nodded.

"First, I need you to justify some of the actions your resistance took on New Caprica. Let's start with the Temple incident. Why did you hide the weapons in the temple?"

"Because we thought they wouldn't look there."

"Yet, they did, due to your actions of hiding the weapons the Cylons came looking and caused the death of ten people."

"We didn't kill those people, the Cylons did."

"Yes, but you put the weapons in the temple, a sacred place that was respected by both the Colonials and the Cylons, and involved civilians in your affairs. Let's move on to your production of explosives next to a hospital, which is just plain dumb."

"Hey, nothing happened."

"Yes, but you could have blown up a frakkin' hospital filled with injured and sick people and mothers giving birth!"

"I was more concerned with getting the Cylons off the planet than a hospital."

"Right, well your actions clearly didn't help. Now let's move on to the idea of suicide bombings, first it's terroristic in style, second of all you killed several humans in the attack."

"Humans that were working with the Cylons."

"Yes, but you naturally assume they were the bad guys."

"I saw what the NCP did, it did a lot of bad things."

"Yes they did, and directly engaging them _might_ have been appropriate, but resorting to suicide bombers, which is a tactic that our enemy uses, remember Aaron Doral? This, coupled with your actions of last night and the murder of Ellen Tigh, is absolutely unacceptable conduct for a Colonial Officer. At this time I cannot in good faith reinstate you as Executive Officer. I'm sorry, Mr. Tigh."

Sarah turned and left the room.

**1230 Hours**

**Office of the President**

_**Colonial One**_

After walking into the office, Sarah kissed Bill and hugged Laura, who was sitting behind her desk.

"Congratulations, Laura."

"Thank you, Sarah; it's good to be back here. I never thought I'd miss the place, but I did."

"I heard about your 'Truth and Reconciliation Committee'."

"Yes, and I was wondering if you would be involved."

"I'm afraid I must decline, I already have too much on my plate as it is, especially if I am going to be Executive Officer for the foreseeable future."

Bill looked a bit surprised at this, "What's wrong with Saul?"

"There is no way I am letting him resume his position, not with the attitude he has now."

"How bad is it?"

"My report is on your desk, Bill."

"I'll look at it later."

Laura cleared her throat, "Ahem, to get back on topic, Sarah, if you can't be on the Committee do you have a recommended replacement?"

"Yes, Lieutenant Hoshi. Now that I'm done fixing _Galactica's_ personnel nightmare, he really has nothing to do. He has a good head on his shoulders; he knows what he's doing, and he's very good with paperwork."

"Good, I was thinking about Billy to represent the people that were in the Fleet at the time, have Sam Anders represent the Resistance, and have Tory Foster represent the Government and Cylons."

Bill and Sarah looked a bit taken aback at the last name, "What? The whole point of this is to find the truth. To do that I need someone who knows the truth."

Sarah looks at the clock and groans, "I promised to get Joseph early today from Daycare, Mya and Corporal Jaffee are so overwhelmed." She head to the door but stops and turns, "I noticed you didn't pardon Gaius Baltar."

"No I didn't."

"Good. His trial shall prove to be most interesting; if we ever stumble across him again."

AN: Please Review! Thanks to those who have.

AN2: In this story the fleet's total population currently stands 41,435, the same number it was at this point in the series. Remember though, that in this story _Cloud 9_ did not explode, so there are less deaths before the occupation and more deaths during the occupation. This is because Boomer is not there to positively influence the Cylons, only Caprica is.


	23. The Hardest Decisions are Sometimes the

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Torn" and "A Measure of Salvation"

AN: Thanks to Marcus S. Lazarus and The People's Sgt, who were the only two people to review the last chapter.

Chapter 23

The Hardest Decisions are Sometimes the Easiest

**Unknown Time**

**Somewhere on a Cylon Baseship**

**Unknown Location**

The Number Six model known as Caprica was currently thinking about a man who conflicted her feelings. She used to love Gaius Baltar, but now, she didn't know how she felt about him. She saw him not as the great man she thought he was, but as a scared little human, who had nothing on his mind except his own self-preservation. As she walked through her projected forest with Three and Gaius she decided she would have to think on the issue some more.

**1100 Hours**

**Viper Training Mission**

**Outside Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah had no idea why she decided to tag along on this mission. Maybe she missed being in a Viper, maybe she just wanted to prove to the idiots who used to be pilots that she was still just as good as she was the last time she was in a cockpit, almost two years ago. Sarah pushed the thoughts from her head and focused on flying.

The exercise was going well for both sides, apparently flying a viper was just like riding a bike, it came back to you. That was until Hotdog, in some crazy stupid effort to prove himself flew after Kat, who was being chased by Starbuck and ended up hitting Starbuck's Viper, damaging it.

Once they landed on the flight deck, Apollo started chewing out Hotdog for his stupidity while Sarah turned to look at Starbuck, who was in a state that seemed so unlike her. Kara was trembling, so much so that she had trouble gripping the ladder that was pushed up against her Viper. Sarah ran up and grabbed her, gently guiding Kara down the ladder. Sarah then put her arm around the pilot and gently guided her through the halls to her office, before sitting her on the very nice therapy couch. Kara started sobbing a bit while Sarah held her.

"I, I could have died today."

"You could have, but you didn't, Kara."

"Sarah, I can't keep doing this anymore, I can't keep going out there, not when I have a daughter, a daughter who needs me."

"Alright then, you won't, I'll take you off active flight status."

"But I need to keep flying, I need to, _Galactica_ needs me, I'm the best pilot we have."

"Not anymore, you're not, not when you're going to start second guessing all your decisions, not when your heads not out there with you, but instead back here with Kacey."

"But what else am I supposed to do, I'm a Viper Jock, I always have been."

"Well, for starters, I thought after going through the crew roster the hard part of my job would be done. It seems it is not. With Lieutenant Hoshi serving on the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, I find myself in need of a new assistant. Are you interested?"

**1300 Hours**

**War Room/ **_**De Facto**_** Office of Felix and Gina Gaeta**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Meeting About Finding Earth**

Two hours after her meeting with Sarah, Starbuck was suddenly pushed into another meeting with Sarah, Felix and Gina Gaeta, Boomer, Racetrack, the Admiral, and the President. The goal of this meeting was simple, find Earth, using the research of the currently most hated human in history, Gaius Baltar.

Felix started them off, "I've been trying to reassemble Baltar's work on the location of the thirteenth tribe, also known as Earth."

The President raised her hand, "I'm curious, Mr. Gaeta. Why do you trust Dr. Baltar's work? How do you know it's not a lie?"

Gina, who had recovered the files off _Colonial One_ and was the first to see them responded, "Gaius Baltar has a great capacity for self-preservation. He wanted to find Earth because he knew it would be useful to whoever wanted it, whether it is us or the Cylons."

The Admiral wanted to get the meeting back on track, "How far did he get with his research, Captain?"

"Well, as you can see from the mess, Gina and I are still hacking through his notes. But it appears that he was trying to correlate our own astrometric readings with the map of constellations that we found back o n Kobol, and apply his findings to certain select passages within the Scroll of Pythia."

Boomer, felt a little out of here element here, "Pythia?"

Laura Roslin, self proclaimed expert responded, "Yes, Captain, Pythia, is supposed to have chronicled the original journey of the 13th Tribe o n its way to Earth."

Kara was a bit confused, "Um, Felix, not to be rude or anything, but what are we looking for here? I'd doubt that we're going to find sign that says 'Earth is that way.'"

Gina smiled, "Actually, Captain, that is exactly what we found."

Felix brought over the scroll of Pythia, everyone gathered around it, "If I can draw your attention to this passage: 'And the caravan of the heavens was watched over by a great lion with a mighty blinking eye, red and blue.'"

"So, we're looking for a lion's head?"

"With a blinking eye?"

"And I thought Gaius Baltar was messed up before this."

Felix chuckled and nodded, "We thought the Doctor was off his meds too, until we found this little scrap of paper that says 'blinking=pulsars.'"

"So we need to find a pulsar?"

"Actually, we already did," Gina brought over a star chart from the other table, "The doctor found two in very close mutual orbit within this sector. The spectrographic readings we found show o ne will appear to be red, and o ne will appear to be blue. Now... these pulsars appear to be in this nebula. We have never had a direct look at this area. But it is possible, with a couple of eyeballs out there, they might look at the nebula and see…"

Racetrack finished for him, "A giant lions head, with a blinking eye."

"Bingo."

"Well then, Admiral, with your permission, Racetrack and I would like to go lion hunting."

The Admiral nodded, "Good Hunting, Boomer."

**1330 Hours**

**Pilot's Rec Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah walked into the Rec Room to deal with some complaints she had been hearing from various pilots. Apparently Saul Tigh had been spouting his mouth off in the Pilot's Rec Room, "Holding Court," as Helo had put it. It was affecting morale and unit cohesion. She decided to confront him.

As she entered Tigh was drinking (when wasn't he), and talking trash about _her_.

"Really, if we were so loyal on New Caprica then why is there some Cylon Skinjob holding down my job?"

Sarah decided to step in, "Really, your job Saul, last time I checked I've been doing this job for a year and a half, and I think I've been doing a good job."

Saul scoffed.

Sarah looked at the pilots, "Give us the room." They quickly left. Sarah sealed the hatch, walked over, and took a seat next to Tigh. He pushed a bottle over to her.

"Have a drink?"

"Don't mind if I do." She fills the glass and takes a drink.

"So, I take it you're a little pissed about me shouting my mouth off."

"Yes, Saul, yes I am. You do realize I'm trying to run a ship here. Which is not the first thing I'd like to be doing."

"Really, I thought you'd be comfy in the XO job."

"I was, when we were orbiting New Caprica. I could see the rest of my life like that, being the XO of a ship, raising Joseph here, teaching him. I was ready to settle down, we all were. Hence, you were going to the surface."

"Load of good that did."

"Yes, Saul, you lost your wife. You're not the only one to lose someone. I have people who have lost their wives and husbands and mothers and daughters and fathers and sons on that planet. We lost 7,000 people to the Cylons, 7,000 people we couldn't afford to lose, and the number on the whiteboard isn't getting any bigger Saul. I can't be tied down to the XO position, I need you back there. I want to be second officer, which leaves me time to deal with other issues."

"I can't go back there."

"I know you've been through a lot, I know it has something to do with Ellen, and I'm sorry for that. If you need time, then take the time you need, if you need to talk, Saul, then I'm here. But I need you back where you were, where you've been for the past thirty years, at my husband's side."

"I'm not that man anymore."

"Then become better." Sarah finished her drink and walked out, leaving a thoughtful Saul Tigh in her wake.

**1400 Hours**

**A Raptor**

**The Lion's Head Nebula**

**Somewhere En Route to Earth**

Boomer and Racetrack jumped into the system and were greeted by an amazing sight.

"Wow, it actually looks like a lion head, and it's blinking."

Boomer shook her head, "I guess I can see it, I'm not a fan of abstract artwork though."

Racetrack laughed, "Holy crap, it _is_ the road to Earth."

Of course, the beautiful image was ruined by a dead Raider floating across the cockpit window.

"Spin up the FTL drive! The Colonel is going to want to hear about this."

"Yeah, I'm more worried about getting away from here before they wake up."

**1500 Hours**

**A Raptor**

**The Lion's Head Nebula**

**En Route to the Dead Baseship**

An hour after they returned to _Galactica _Boomer and Racetrack were back, along with a ton of marines and Helo and Athena, the only other Cylon that could join them, since Sarah had to be XO and there was absolutely no way anyone was letting a pregnant Gina anywhere near the spooky Baseship. As they approached the Baseship, Sarah got on the horn.

_"Athena and Boomer, Galactica, do you see anything of interest?"_

"Define interest."

_"Oh, I don't know; maybe something that may explain what happened for starters?"_

Athena sighed and looked at the sight, "The pattern of the Raiders suggests they were in the middle of deploying when what ever happened, happened. And the Baseship is glowing?"

_"Glowing?"_

"It's Green, Colonel, that's really the only way I can describe it."

They could hear Sarah sighing on the other end, _"Contact us when you land, Galactica out."_

The next few minutes passed in relative silence, until they landed and poured out of the Raptors.

"Galactica, Athena, we're in."

_"Sitrep."_

"Well the green is clearly coming through here, all the lights seem to, I don't know have some sort of growth in them. We're approaching the Command Center now, stand by."

They walked into the Command Center, which was rather dreary, as compared to other Baseships.

"The Data streams are corrupted and the data pads are corroded."

Boomer sees a Six lying on the floor.

"Oh, Frak. _Galactica, _Boomer, we've got dead Cylons in here, probably 40 or 50. They're all twos, fours, fives, sixes, and eights."

Sergeant Harder remarked, "They've probably all resurrected by now."

_"I doubt it, if they did then the Cylons would be here, investigating, not us. Besides, there is only one Baseship here; they might not have had a Resurrection Ship with them."_

Suddenly a few of them started moving, "_Galactica_, we've got a few live ones here."

Boomer bent over and started talking to one of the Eights, "What happened here?"

"A beacon. We brought it aboard. Carried disease. We're infected."

"Infected?"

"Oh, Frak."

_"Infected? Boomer, Galactica did you just say infected?"_

"Yes, I did say infected, the Cylons have been infected with a disease. We've all been exposed."

**1515 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Biological Crisis Meeting**

Boomer dropping that little bombshell led to a bit of a panic in the CIC. Humans didn't like biological weapons, and for good reason. The Cylons used them quite effectively in the war. Doc Cottle was quickly brought up and explained the quarantine procedures, Captain Gaeta started making the arrangements for them.

"Can you bring the beacon back? It's good to have the source of the pathogen."

Sarah nodded, "I want it for another reason, if it is indeed from the 13th Tribe then it could have information we need."

"It's too dangerous; I want to limit our exposure."

"Then we jump out now, Bill, bringing the beacon aboard is no different than bringing the crew back."

Bill sighed, "Fine, bring the damn thing."

Cottle interjected, "Bring the prisoners too, they can give me a timeline of the infection and could help me synthesize a cure."

Bill nodded to Dee, who quickly relayed the instructions to the Baseship.

They got off just before the Baseship exploded.

**1600 Hours**

**A Storage Locker near the Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Beacon Investigation**

After Cottle had taken his samples, the Gaetas, Sarah, and Kara entered the room where the beacon was being kept, in full Haz-Mat suits, they weren't taking any chances.

"So what do we know, exactly?"

"The object is clearly man-made. We have no way of telling when it was made though, or who made it. However, as far as we know, in recorded Colonial History, no ship has ever been out here."

"So we have no idea who made the thing?"

"Nope, but the object has no propulsion mechanisms to speak of, so we're assuming someone dropped it."

"Are there any identifiable markings?"

"None to speak of."

Kara cocked her head, "Why does it look so familiar?"

Sarah stood thinking, for a moment, "Maybe we're looking at it from the wrong perspective. Get the Chief in here."

Fifteen minutes later Chief Tyrol entered; of course he had enough on his mind, with his wife being in Quarantine and all. He only had to take one look at the thing and he knew what it was.

"What's up with the radiator?"

"The _what?"_

"The radiator, that's what this is, it's a radiator. Before the advent of modern environmental systems, ships were kept warm by shunting excess heat from the engines into radiators, like this one."

"How long has this technology been in use?"

"A long time, I mean since Humanity left Kobal time. These things are old. This appears to be one of the earliest models I've ever seen, like, found in a museum old."

Realization dawned on Sarah, "Or 13th Tribe old."

Kara chucked, "so, we just found the most important piece of crap in the history of the human race."

Felix chided her, "This is important, Captain, it means we're headed in the right direction, three thousand years ago, someone dropped a broken radiator out of a ship and here it is."

"Okay now that we know what it is, let's get rid of it before this mysterious infection kills us all."

"But we could take it apart, learn so much."

Sara groaned at her sister's antics, "Gina, it's a radiator, not a computer core. We want to know if we're going the right way, clearly we are, we're not anthropologists studying every little thing about them. Get this thing out an airlock ASAP."

Sarah turned to leave and report her findings.

**1800 Hours**

**Office of the President**

_**Colonial One**_

**Biological Weapon Plan Meeting**

The problems the Fleet was facing shifted rapidly over the past two ours. Thankfully the Human Race had a 3,000 year old immunity to Lymphocytic encephalitis. The Cylons in the Fleet were all immune, because they all had been pregnant at sometime. Sarah could now effectively sum up the problem in two people.

Gaius Baltar and Lee Adama

Baltar was helping the Cylons to find Earth. This was bad. Baltar had all their navigational details, not only that he didn't need to go through his own notes for the clues.

The Human Race once again was racing to beat the running clock.

The other problem was Lee Adama. He had come up with the solution to all their problems. A solution, however, that could be considered genocide. The same thing the Cylons did to Humanity a few short years ago.

Sarah came back to the conversation just as Apollo finished describing the plan.

"…And once the virus is in their Resurrection Ships, they'll be no stopping it."

"Um, hmm, let me thinking about that, how about no way in frakkin' hell no."

Laura sighed, "Sarah."

"Oh, don't you Sarah, me, Laura," She pointed to the picture in her office, of the rescue workers on Aerilon, "_Lest We Forget. _Isn't that the name of this photo? Have we forgotten what happened a few years ago? Twenty Billion people, 99.99975 percent of the human race wiped out in a matter of hours? If we do this we're just as bad as them. It's genocide, plain and simple."

Apollo shook his head, "They're machines, they're build. No fathers or mothers or sons—"

"Lee you better shut your mouth right now. I have a son, you might know him, his name is Joseph Adama, _and he's your brother, Lee!_ Now I guess since all the Cylons in the Fleet are immune, it doesn't matter to us. But don't give me any of that programmed crap! You are all relatively honest people, so make the right decision for a change."

Sarah turned and left. Bill and Laura quickly dismissed Lee and the others in the room before sitting in one of the seating spaces.

"You realize that if we do this then Sarah is never going to speak to either of us again, Laura."

"The stakes are pretty high, Bill."

"But are they high enough? No, I don't think they are, I'm not doing it. I remember the last time my wife and I had a fight about this sort of thing. It only ended when a common enemy showed up in the form of Helena Cain, I'm not going to rely on that again."

"I could find someone who will."

"You could try, Madam President, but consider this for a moment. I said no, my XO is a Cylon who will certainly say no. My second officer is married to a Cylon, as is my Deck Chief. Two of my senior pilots are Cylons. Finally, the closest think you ever had to a daughter is a Cylon. So, I don't think so."

Laura sighed, "Frak, you're right. So where do we go from here."

"The Cylons have a democracy. We give them a choice."

That's exactly what they did. The Cylons were given three options, to die naturally, to be shot, or to die in range of a resurrection ship in the hopes that the Cylons would find a cure. They all chose to be shot; it was cleaner and put them out of their misery.

In her quarter that night, after kissing Joseph good night, Sarah smiled, the human race, especially her husband, were human for another day. Strange that they need a Cylon to remind them who they are.

AN: Please Review, thanks to those who have.


	24. The Origins of War

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Hero"

.

Chapter 24

The Origins of War

**0900 Hours**

**Office of the President**

_**Colonial One**_

Billy Keikeya was helping Laura Roslin to clean out her office. With the exception of Doctor Baltar's research on Earth all his crap was still here. In addition, most of Laura's stuff had to be pulled out of storage on _Cloud 9_. (She only brought her winter clothes down to the surface of New Caprica and left everything else with Billy, thus making her one of the best dressed woman in the Fleet.)

Laura held up a painting of Dr. Baltar, "Billy, what do you think we should do with this? I'm personally of the opinion of putting it in the bathroom."

"Dee has said something about running out of targets for the shooting range on _Galactica_."

"Even better." She goes back to the pile of papers on her desk, "Oh my, Billy, do you remember this?"

Billy walks over, "Oh, yeah, that's the Dossier I prepared for you when we were going to _Galactica_ for the Decommissioning Ceremony."

"It seems like a lifetime ago. I can't believe I was about to throw this out."

"Look at this, The Admiral's 45th year of Service with the Colonial fleet is coming up soon."

"We should have a ceremony; give the Admiral a medal for 45 years of dedicated service."

"It will give the people something good for a change."

**0903 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The ship was currently at condition one, three Raiders had just jumped into the system; the most unusual part was that two of them were shooting at the third. Sarah and Kara were standing on one side of the DRADIS console metaphorically scratching their heads at the idea of Raiders attacking each other. Bill was on the other side all focused.

"Where's the CAP?"

"Kat and Hotdog are 98 seconds away."

"There's something weird about this, Colonel."

"Yeah, Kara, that phrase seems to be popping up a lot."

Meanwhile, Kat and Hotdog had destroyed the two raiders and were closing in on the third, before a message came over the wireless.

"Krypter! Krypter! Krypter! This is Bulldog, I'm wounded, get me the frak out of here!"

"What the frak."

The CAP reported they were closing in as the message repeated, apparently coming from the Raider.

Bill suddenly ordered them to cease fire and to escort the Viper into the hanger deck.

"I want the Alert Guard there in five minutes."

Bill suddenly left the CIC, with Sarah and Kara fast on his heels.

"Bill, what the frak is going on?"

Bill kept walking.

"Bill?"

"Not now, Sarah."

"Bill?"

"I said not now!"

Kara turned to Sarah, "What the frak?"

Sarah merely shrugged her shoulders.

**0915 Hours**

**Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

It was sort of spooky to see the Raider being dragged into the Hanger Deck, almost like a massive beast had entered the room. After a few minutes the hatch started to open and a bunch of Raider goo leaked out. Then the hatch opened all the way and A man was thrown out onto the deck. After a minute the man stood and saluted, "is it really you, sir?"

"It is, welcome home Bulldog."

The man named Bulldog then looked over at Sarah who was standing next to Bill. Bull dog's eyes widened for a moment before running and tackling her, and then starting to beat the crap out of her.

Starbuck's reactions were slowed because of her shock, but she quickly recovered. She flipped the man off of the Colonel, put her foot on his throat and had her sidearm pointed at his head.

Bill shouted, "Starbuck, stand down!"

"_Sir?_"

"Just do it, Kara."

Kara reluctantly got off of him and stood back. Bulldog scrambled to his feet and pointed at Sarah, "She's a Cylon! She's a Cylon!"

Kara rolled her eyes and threw her hands into the air, "Oh, for frak's sake, duh. You don't think that we don't know that the XO is a Cylon?"

Sarah coughed on the floor, "Quite understandable, actually. Bill, I recommend we adjourn to your quarters, where I will join you, after stopping in the Infirmary for an ice pack. Now, Kara, be a good assistant and help me up."

**0945 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah arrived back in her quarters to having Lieutenant Daniel "Bulldog" Novacek apologizing profusely to her about knocking her on the ground and beating the crap out of her, Sarah just waved him off.

"Don't worry about it; it's a completely understandable reaction after escaping from Cylon captivity."

The meeting consisted of Laura, Billy, Sarah, Bill, and Danny. It went fairly well until Bill tried to explain what happened to Bulldog. He had come up with some story about Bulldog being shot down by a bunch of Tauron Rebels. After that Sarah excused Bulldog and Billy, before turning back to Bill, "Okay, Bill, are you going to cut the crap and tell us what really happened?"

"You're going to have to trust me on this, it's my mess, and I'll clean it up. Thank you, both." Both took the obvious dismissal and walked out steaming.

**1300 Hours**

**Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah was upset, no, wait, she wasn't upset; she was pissed. Bill was her husband; he was supposed to share everything with her. Yet on this issue for some reason, Bill was being quiet and Sarah had no idea why. After finishing her report to one of the fleet therapists on Lieutenant Novacek (she realized that she couldn't treat him, for the obvious reason that he had only been around Cylons for a few years), she started pacing her office, trying to piece together what she knew about Bill Adama and connecting it with the current situation.

The story Bill gave, about the Tauron Rebels gave her a time period, sometime in the past few years, since she arrived on Caprica. A quick check of Lt. Novacek's records, that were painstakingly reassembled, revealed he had gone missing from the _Valkyrie_, Bill's previous command that for some reason had all the records just before Bill was transferred were sealed. She remembered that from just before heading to _Galactica_. The only reason they would seal the records so tightly that no one but the Admiralty had access could be summed up in one word, Cylons.

Sarah grunted, she decided she had to know what happened. She walked out of her office and down the hall to her quarters, where Bill was still hiding. He was sitting on the couch, nursing a drink when Sarah came in and sat next to him, putting her arm around her husband.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on Bill?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Okay, let me tell you what I know. This has to do with your last mission on the _Valkyrie_, a few years ago. The records on that mission were sealed, which says only one thing, Cylons, so why don't you fill in the blanks?"

Bill took another drink of his drink before starting, "I shot him down."

Now _that_ was not something Sarah was ready for, "Um, what?"

"I shot him down."

"Why?"

"To avoid detection, to protect the mission."

Sarah was confused, "Bill, maybe you should start at the beginning."

"The mission was black ops, very black ops, like one of those this never happened sort of things. The sole purpose of it was to ascertain the probability of a Cylon strike."

"The Colonials knew, they knew and they did nothing?"

"We didn't know anything for sure; there were just rumors and theories that the Cylons were building up a war machine. The Admiralty didn't like the Adar administration, they felt that we were unprepared. My mission was to escort a stealth craft over the Armistice Line, to stick our nose over it."

"Which would be an act of war."

"Exactly."

"So what happened?"

"Bulldog made it two clicks past the line, without any trouble, no DRADIS, nothing. Then there were several unidentified contacts. They winged him. He lost control. If the Cylons discovered him, it was all over. I shot him down. All these years I hoped they were Taurons, now I know the truth, I started it."

"Started what?"

"The attacks o n the Colonies, by crossing the line, I showed them that we were the warmongers they figured us to be. I left them but o ne choice; to attack us before we attacked them."

Sarah then did the unbelievable, she started laughing.

"This isn't funny, Sarah!"

"Yes, it is, William Adama, I swear I must have married the most egotistical man in the galaxy. Your little thing would did not start the war. The war already started There's a lot of evidence to point to this."

"What do you mean?"

"Take me, for example. I was already on Caprica by the time of your mission. I was already there, a sleeper agent, in place. I may not know a lot about "The Plan", but I do know one thing. The Plan has been in place for decades. The wheels were already rolling by the time you came along. It wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't my fault," he cried, "It wasn't my fault."

The married couple just sat there holding each other.

**1330 Hours**

**Saul Tigh's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah knocked on the door of her husband's oldest friend.

"Hello, Saul."

"Sarah, do you need something?"

"Yes, I need help, I need your help in understanding my husband, understanding what happened. I thought I knew him, but I guess I didn't."

Saul groaned, he didn't want to be acting as a therapist to the therapy skinjob, "Fine, come in."

**1330 Hours**

**Pilots Ready Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Starbuck looked around the room on the ship that she had spent so much time in over the years. If she were older she would say that she was having a bit of nostalgia, but now, it was more a reminder of what she was. She was so deep in thought she didn't hear Kat come in.

"Miss it already, Starbuck?"

Kara's answer even surprised herself, "No, actually, I don't. I have more important things in my life now." Kacey, specifically.

"Well even though you're not a pilot anymore, you might be able to help me with this." She held up a stack of charts and a gun camera tape.

"Wow, the great Kat asking me for help. I should feel honored," sarcasm dripped from Starbuck's tongue, "Oh and for the record I am still a pilot, just not on the roster."

"Whatever, I just need a second opinion on this. The whole Raider chase isn't adding up."

"Fine, what have you got?"

**1350 Hours**

**A Corridor**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

What Kat had turned out to be proof that Cylons allowed Bulldog to escape, which led to Kara running after Colonel Inviere-Adama, who was last seen in Saul Tigh's quarters. She knocked on the door before entering, somewhat surprised to see the Colonel and Tigh having a pleasant conversation.

"Um, Colonel?"

"Yes," both of them answered in stereo before looking at each other and laughing.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem."

Kara threw the charts down on the table.

"Bulldog's Raider was damaged. He was flying straight and level. Those Raiders following him had several chances to shoot him down. Hell, one of our nuggets could have made that shot. They let him escape."

"But why would they…" Sarah looked at Saul, both knew what the other was thinking

"Oh, Frak."

They started running toward Bulldog's quarters, Kara following close behind.

**1353 Hours**

**Quarters of Lieutenant Daniel Novacek**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah arrived to see Bulldog beating the crap out of her husband with a pipe, she quickly pulled Bulldog off Bill, disarmed him and kicked him into a corner, before turning to her husband, "Are you okay, Bill."

Bill, lying against the table answers, "Yeah."

While Sarah tended to his injuries, Tigh was talking to Bulldog,

"You don't want to do this Danny, the Cylons, they let you go, it's better to know the truth than to live a lie. Why did they let you go? They let you go so you could get your revenge and until a minute ago, you were doing exactly what they wanted. You want to know what the worst part is, when you know you're being played, when you feel like crap and there's nothing good left, but you have to move on."

Sarah looked at him, impressed, maybe it was time to make him XO again? Sarah then remembered all the booze in his quarters.

**1500 Hours**

**Office of the President**

_**Colonial One**_

Laura Roslin was rather annoyed at Admiral Adama at the moment.

"Your resignation? You have got to be kidding me. Weren't we just discussing how we couldn't replace you last week?"

"We were discussing how you couldn't replace me to get someone to release a Biological Weapon. I can assure you that Colonel Inviere-Adama is fully capable of assuming command of the Fleet."

"You do realize that Sarah doesn't want to be the Executive Officer, much less Admiral." Laura groaned at the Admiral, "Sit down, Bill."

"I know Sarah already explained to you that you didn't start the war. But let me give you a different explanation. The Admiralty wanted a war, so they got you to start it. They set you up Bill! Now since you have a seeming need to pay for what you've done, this is what we are going to do." She tosses the invitation at him.

"A Medal of Distinction?"

"Yep, you are going to stand up there and let me pin a frakkin' medal to your chest."

"I can't."

"It's not for you, Bill, it's for them."

**1100 Hours, The Next Day**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah was standing at the DRADIS Console watching the bar that refreshes it go around and around, watching and waiting.

Honestly, it was a waste of her time. That's why she was waiting for her relief to arrive.

She had made a deal with Saul Tigh last night. He would return to XO, part time. Colonel Tigh would be responsible for the watch duties, such as inspecting the ship, advising the Admiral, and most importantly standing in the CIC watching the DRADIS Console.

Sarah, meanwhile, would handle all the problems that popped up, return to Counseling and handling all the Fleet problems that Tigh used to brush off. She would also stay as a Colonel and keep Kara as her assistant.

Colonel Saul Tigh and Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama would share the position of Executive Officer.

Colonel Tigh walked in and stood across the table from her, before saluting.

"I relieve you, Colonel."

Sarah returned the salute "I stand relieved, Colonel."

Sarah smiled and left, watching her crew move with purpose as she walked down the hall to her office, where Kara was waiting behind a desk. Sarah turned to her and smiled even more.

"Alright, Captain, what's next?"

As Kara started bringing all the issues of command to her attention, Sarah kept smiling, Life was good.

AN: Please Review, Thanks to those who have.

AN2: Who can identify the television reference in this chapter?

AN3: "Unfinished Business" is the next chapter, in which there will be flashbacks of the year before the Cylons came to New Caprica, and some fighting too.


	25. Memories at the Dance

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Unfinished Business"

.

Chapter 25

Memories at the Dance

**1300 Hours**

**Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Fight Night**

Sarah entered the flight deck to see what was happening. She really didn't understand this ritual; personally she felt that all the extra and gratuitous violence was too much in a universe fraught with destruction. Sarah wasn't a pacifist, not by any means, but she believed in judicious and appropriate use of force, not having her crew beat the crap out of each other.

Right now, in the ring were Lee Adama and, to her surprise, Billy Keikeya. Even more surprising was that Billy was winning. She honestly had no idea how that was happening. Some shouting in the corner drew her attention. There was Dee, shouting and cheering her husband on. Dee had changed since her marriage to Billy. She went from being almost suicidal, to being one of the happiest members of the crew. Sara had the feeling that her baby changed that too.

_**Flashback**_

_**1000 Hours**_

_**Outside Billy Keikeya's Office**_

_**Cloud 9**_

_**Two Months after Gaius Baltar's Inauguration**_

_ Dee was pacing outside her husband's office. She really had no idea what to do about what she had uncovered. Dee had just found out that she was pregnant, and she honestly wasn't sure how she felt about it. She didn't know if she wanted to bring a child into the universe right now, but her faith wouldn't let her do otherwise. But she knew above all, that she had to let Billy know, she had to let him in on the decision._

_ Dee gently knocked on the door three times before a muffled, "come in," was heard. Billy was inside standing next to a white board that had each ship listed, each ship's total passengers, and each ship's total capacity. It also listed whether or not the ship was in the Fleet or on the surface. Finally there was a small corner at the bottom that had the current population of the Fleet versus the population of New Caprica. Every week when Dee came in here the Fleet number kept getting smaller while the New Caprica number kept getting bigger. It was depressing._

_ Billy saw her come in and turned to give her a big kiss, "Hello, Dee, how are things in the CIC?"_

_ "Boring as hell, how are things here?"_

_ "Crazy, everyone keeps wanting to go to New Caprica, even though I tell them it's safer here and more comfortable here, they keep wanting to leave. To make things worse Baltar wants more ships on the surface, so that means I have to move people to other ships, it's a logistical nightmare. Actually, it's worse than the initial evacuation from the colonies. Or maybe I just notice it more because I'm in charge. Oh, I don't know."_

_ Billy collapses on his couch and throws his arms out, Dee cuddles next to him._

_ "Well, I hate to tell you but your logistical nightmare just got worse."_

_ "Huh, did Sarah have her baby? If she did then I might have won the pool…"_

_ Dee slapped his arm "No you idiot, it's not Sarah having the baby."_

_ "But there is a baby involved?"_

_ Dee nodded._

_ "Well, then who's having the baby?"_

_ "Um, we are Billy,"_

_ Billy blinked before responding in a monotone, "we're having a baby?"He slowly started smiling, "we're having a baby!"_

_ Billy noticed that Dee wasn't smiling,, "What is it, Dee? What's wrong?"_

_ "It's just I'm worried, this isn't exactly the life I imagined for my child, this isn't a good life, running and hiding."_

_ "Dee, we will be the best parents we can be. There isn't any more we can do."_

_ Dee slowly nodded and started smiling, maybe things would be alright _

_End Flashback_

"Sarah, Sarah!"

Sarah turned around to see Laura and her husband coming into the hanger deck. Both of them had a meeting earlier in the day, so they were just coming here now.

Sarah kissed her husband, "Hello, Bill. Hello, Laura, what brings you here?"

"My father loved boxing when I was growing up, so now, I like boxing."

Sarah glanced over at Doc Cottle who seemed to be getting into it, odd for a Doctor.

"Laura, your husband seems to be getting into it."

"Oh yes, he really loves fighting."

Bill and Sarah looked at each other struggling not to laugh.

_**Flashback**_

_**1400 Hours**_

_**A Hill Overlooking New Caprica City**_

_**New Caprica**_

_**One Month after Gaius Baltar's Inauguration**_

_ Bill and Sarah stepped out of the raptor on the hill overlooking what would eventually become New Caprica City, emphasis on the eventually. Right now, New Caprica City consisted of a single dirt road leading from _Colonial One _to the river on the other side of the settlement. In all there were a few tents constructed, mostly for government and construction, as well as the two new tents going up directly in front of them._

_ "Do you think that this is going to become the vision of humanity as it was?" Bill asked sarcastically, borrowing a line from Gaius Baltar._

_ "No, we don't have the infrastructure, or the time."_

_ "I agree."_

_ Their attention was drawn to a squabbling couple down below,_

_ "No, no, no, your hospital goes there, my school goes there."_

_ "I need the hospital closer to the planned sewer and electric lines."_

_ "Oh! Well, speaking of power we brought two generators down here, one for me and one for you, now you're taking both of them!"_

_ "Laura, I run a hospital that people need, building a city leads to injuries, what do you need a generator for? Look around. Do you see any school children?"_

_ As the couple continued squabbling Sarah and Bill started laughing, Bill asked, "Why do they argue so much?"_

_ "I don't know, maybe it's for the make-up sex?"_

_ Bill turned to Sarah and smirked, "Make-up sex? I'll show you make-up sex!" He pounced. _

_ For the rest of the day the pilots strategically avoided the hill, While the Major was rather beautiful, it sort of felt like watching your parents having sex. Not a good image._

_End Flashback_

As Sarah looked around the crowded Hanger Deck, she saw the Gina and Felix behind a table, taking bets on the action. Just a few months ago, Gina wouldn't have been anywhere near a crowd this big, she really had come a long way from the battered, scared woman Sarah held on the _Pegasus_, and most of it was thanks to her relationship with and subsequent marriage to Felix Gaeta. As she smiled, joking with the crew members and collecting money, Sarah glanced down at Gina's rather large belly. That went beyond Sarah's wildest expectations, she never expected Gina to get pregnant, simply because when she first met Gina on _Pegasus_, Sarah never expected Gina to become intimate with someone again. Eventually she did, but it was a long uphill battle.

_**Flashback**_

_**2200 Hours**_

_**A Maintenance Locker**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_**Two Months after Gaius Baltar's Inauguration**_

_ Felix and Gina were making out with each other in a maintenance locker by Gina's quarters. It was the first time they made out, before, after the kiss on the Raptor, two months earlier, they had just kept it to chaste kisses of only a few seconds. These kisses were always initiated by Felix. For some reason Gina found herself unable to initiate any sort of contact with Felix, she responded to what he did, but she never started it._

_ Today, after a rare dinner on _Cloud 9 _the two returned to _Galactica _smiling and looking at each other with eyes that could only express a portion of how they felt. They started kissing in the hallway before Felix dragged them into the locker and shut the door behind them. The kissing started getting more intense, Felix's hands slowly started moving, running one through Gina's long blond hair and running the other under her shirt, over the scars on her back._

_ This caused a reaction in Gina, she froze. Suddenly, she remembered her experiences on _Pegasus_. She remembered the beatings, the taunting, the violations; she remembered how she felt, how she just shut down. Gina did the same thing in that closet. Felix had only a moment's warning before Gina's legs gave out and he had to gently guide her to the floor. He looked into her eyes and could only see a blank vacant look. Felix didn't know what to do, so, he called someone who did. He reached the phone on the wall and dialed the Adamas' Quarters._

_ The Admiral answered, "Adama."_

_ "Admiral, this is Lieutenant Gaeta, is the Major there, Sir, because there is something wrong with Gina and I really don't think I'm qualified to handle it."_

_ "Hang on," he heard the phone passing around and some mumbling. He snuck a quick look back a Gina, who was still on the floor, but at least no she was blinking._

_ "What is it, Felix?"_

_ "It's Gina, Major, she's currently, on the floor in the Maintenance Locker near her quarters, and she seems to have this vacant look in her eyes."_

_ "Frak, okay, Felix, listen to me, she's probably having a flashback, listen carefully, kneel down next to her and start gently reassuring her in a gentle tone of voice, telling her this isn't real, that she's safe, that sort of thing. If you must put your hand on her hand, only on her hand, nowhere else. I'll be there in a few minutes."  
Felix did exactly what she said, he knelt down next to her body, which was sort of propped up against the wall, and started talking to her._

_ "Gina, it's Felix, Felix Gaeta, you're safe, you're on _Galactica_, no one is going to hurt you, okay."_

_ It didn't seem like he was getting through to her, so he gently placed his hand on her hand, a few moments passed before he slowly felt it close around his. Her blinking became more rapid before she slowly moved her head, focusing on him._

_ "Felix?"_

_ "Hello, Gina."_

_ At this point the hatch opened and a pregnant looking Sarah stepped in, "Any change, Mr. Gaeta?"_

_ "Change in what, sister?"_

_ "What's the last thing you remember?"_

_ "Let's see, I was walking down the hallway with Felix, we came in here, and we started um…"_

_ "Making out?" Felix supplied._

_ "Yes, making out, then I woke up here on the floor. What happened?"_

_ "I think you had a flashback. Mr. Gaeta, I need to know _exactly _what happened. This is important."_

_ "Right, well we were making out, it was getting a bit more intense, I ran my left hand though her hair and my right hand under her shirt,"_

_ "The front or back, Felix?"_

_ "Back, why?"_

_ "I'm trying to figure out what triggered this. Come, Gina, let's get you to bed, we'll talk more about this in the morning._

_**0800 Hours, The Next Day**_

_**Office of Sarah Inviere-Adama**_

_**Battlestar**_** Galactica**

_**Two Months and One Day after Gaius Baltar's Inauguration**_

_Tick, tock, tick tock._

_Sarah and Gina were sitting in Sarah's office, discussing the events of the previous evening._

"_So how are you feeling?"_

"_Terrible, horrible, scum of the earth, etc."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because here I've got this great guy willing to do anything for me, willing to date me after everything that happened and I can't even make out with him without blacking out. I'm dirty, ugly, horrible, and weak I don't deserve him."_

"_What, you are not, you're beautiful and a wonderful strong woman, you just have some issues you have to work through."_

"_Beautiful, that's a laugh." Gina stood up and pulled off her shirt and her bra. "Look at me, seriously, Sarah, look at me." Gina slowly spun around so that Sarah could see all the scars covering her breasts, her torso, and her back. "I'm gross, ugly, disgusting, and don't get me started on how weak I am. I mean seriously, if I can't stay conscious during a make out session, what happens when we actually have sex, Sarah?"_

"_Gina, I could tell you that he doesn't care, but you won't believe me, the best thing you can do is tell him what you told me and see what he says."_

"_Yes, I should, I suppose I owe it to him."_

"_Good." Sarah picked up her phone and called the tactical station in the CIC, she asked for Felix to come down, before nodding to Gina and leaving her alone with her thoughts._

_A few minutes later Felix came in and saw Gina sitting, facing away from him, topless, he immediately went bug eyed and his jaw dropped. Luckily, he managed to get control of his facial reactions before she turned around. However, that didn't do him much good when she did, his jaw dropped and he went bug eyed when he saw the front of her incredibly hot model-like body._

_Gina wasn't looking at him, instead she was looking at the floor between them._

"_Felix, listen, you are a great guy, probably the greatest person I've ever dated. Honestly, though, I don't think we should be together, I'm really not good enough for you, not by far. I'm grotesque and ugly, and weak. I feel horrible about what happened yesterday. I love you, Felix Gaeta, these past two months have been the most spectacular of my life, but I don't deserve you. You deserve a woman who's beautiful and emotionally stable; a woman who doesn't go comatose just because you touch her." After saying her piece, Gina ignored the tears welling up in her eyes and just waited for Felix to do something._

_His next comment surprised her, "Wow, you are so beautiful."_

"_What?"_

"_Look at you; you are one of the most beautiful sights in the universe."_

"_No, Felix you don't understand, you don't understand that under," she looked down, "Oh!"_

_Gina just realized that she was naked from the waist up._

_Felix looked at her shocked and embarrassed face and grinned, "What, you didn't realized you were topless this whole time?"_

_Gina answered in a small voice, "No, no I didn't."_

_Felix slowly walked toward her, talking in a calm, controlled voice while he did, "Gina, I can see your scars, I can see them, and they are just as beautiful as the rest of you, because they prove something. They prove that you have an amazing, unbreakable spirit, they prove that you are a survivor." He gently placed his hands on her forearms, "You are beautiful Gina, never doubt it." Felix then gently kissed one of the scars on her upper shoulder. Surprisingly, Gina didn't blackout or flashback. This was kind, this was Felix, and this was good._

_End Flashback_

Sarah looked back at the ring; apparently Sharon Tyrol just got her tags called, the climbed into the ring and looked around before pointing at a single person, Sharon Agathon, who was smirking at Boomer. As she got into the ring, the crew of _Galactica_ came to a startling conclusion.

The two Sharons looked _exactly_ alike. They both had the same muscle tone, same body dimensions, same eyes, same noses, same hairstyle, and the same skin with the same blemishes. The only differences between them are that Boomer had a scar on her right cheek from where she tried to shoot herself and Athena has a scar (that the crew couldn't see) from her emergency c-section.

Sarah knew that this fight was going to be brutal. These two had _a lot_ of issues between them and it was all coming to a head at this damn dance.

The bell rang and they came out swinging.

_**Flashback**_

_**1000 Hours**_

_**Sickbay**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_**Three Months after Gaius Baltar's Inauguration**_

_ The Tyrol's were sitting in Sickbay with a worried look on their face. In the past few days, Sharon hadn't been feeling well, which was unusual because Cylons don't get sick. So, they did the best thing they could do, they went to sickbay._

_ Fleet Chief Medical Officer, Layne Ishay looked at them, heard their symptoms, nodded, drew a bit of blood and walked off for a few minutes. When she came back she was smiling._

_ "Congratulations, Sharon, you're pregnant."_

_ "Pregnant? Pregnant!" She turned to Galen and jumped into his arms, "We're pregnant! We're going to have a baby!" She then proceeded to kiss him quite thoroughly._

_ Layne waited a minute or so before gently clearing her throat, pulling the lovebirds apart, "Right, yes, now there's a lot you need to do…" Layne then went on to describe the prenatal care that Sharon would need, including that she should limit her flying._

_**2200 Hours**_

_**CAG's Quarters**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_**Four and a Half Months after Gaius Baltar's Inauguration**_

_ Sharon and Galen just finished moving to their new quarters after Sharon's recent promotion to CAG. After Kara left to get married, the most experienced pilot left on _Galactica _was Sharon, so the Admiral promoted her, even though she was on limited flight status due to her pregnancy. They were now laying on their new, wider bed, Sharon in the crook of Galen's arm as they were both gently rubbing her belly and the life that grew within it._

_ "I'm thinking Nicholas for a boy."_

_ Sharon turned her head slightly, "Nicholas?"_

_ "It was my maternal grandfather's name and William for a middle name, after the Admiral, of course."_

_ "Sounds good, I don't have any ancestors, so I'm kind of lacking in that regard," She chuckled slightly, "How about if it's a girl."_

_ "Athena, after the goddess of Wisdom and War."_

_ "It's fitting, with my smarts and warlike attitude."_

_ "Your smarts and warlike attitude, I think I have some smarts in there myself, I built a ship you know."_

_ "Yes and it blew up on the first mission._

_ "It's not my fault that the Cylons shot at the thing."_

_ They both laughed before laying in silence for a bit, and then suddenly Sharon spoke, "Sarah."_

_ "What about her?"_

_ Sharon playfully slapped him, "No you idiot, as a middle name Athena Sarah Tyrol has a nice ring to it."_

_ "Yes, it does, it's unique."_

_End Flashback_

One of the Sharons hit the other in the face with a right cross, knocking her down. The one on the ground quickly swept the standing Sharon's legs out from under her, bringing her to the ground.

_**Flashback**_

_**0200 Hours**_

_**Sickbay**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_**Seven Months after Gaius Baltar's Inauguration**_

_Thirty minutes ago, Sharon Tyrol woke up with vaginal bleeding and severe abdominal pain and was quickly rushed to sickbay by her husband. Layne Ishay came over with the ultrasound machine and started listening to the sound of the heartbeat in Sharon's womb. She was trying to diagnose why the fetus's heart rate was steadily dropping, nothing she, nor anything Doctor Cottle on the surface did helped._

_Suddenly, she heard nothing, "The fetus's heart rate has flat-lined. I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do."_

"_Nothing, what do you mean nothing? Please, there has to be something?"_

"_Sharon, I'm sorry, but you've had a miscarriage. We'll have to wait and see if the fetus and placenta pass naturally on their own, or if they'll have to be removed."_

_Layne bowed her head and left the grieving couple alone._

_End Flashback_

One of the Sharons was up against the ropes of the ring while the other was working her over, before the one on the ropes suddenly went on the offensive, kicking the other in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying to the other side of the ring. The one on the ropes stood up, did her best to shake off the pain she was feeling and started advancing on the other, who was still trying to recover her breath.

_**Flashback**_

_**1800 Hours**_

_**Galactica Daycare Facility**_

_**Battlestar **_**Galactica**

_**Eight Months after Gaius Baltar's Inauguration **_

_Boomer was keeping up with her work; actually it was really the only thing holding her together. Sarah had tried talking to her, everyone had, but she and Galen weren't talking to anyone, not even each other, they answered questions with the shortest conversation possible. Today the random wandering that Sharon took after work in an unsuccessful effort to keep her mind off of things took her to the Daycare, where Sharon was getting Hera to take her home for the day._

_ Sharon Agathon saw Boomer, for the first time since the tragedy and approached her, "Sister, I'm sorry about what happened to you—"_

_\ "I don't want your condolences!" Boomer shouted before pausing for a second, "Why, why did this happen to me, why do you, you of all people, get that happy healthy child and I get nothing? Why?"_

_ Sharon Agathon had always be jealous of her, 'sister,' who for some reason was more respected than she was, who didn't spend months looking at the walls of a cell, who was let off with a slap on the wrist when she should have been killed, who didn't have the shame, embarrassment or horror of being violated by Thorne. She decided that now that she had Boomer jealous at her she was going to take full advantage of it,_

_ "I don't know, maybe it's God punishing you for what you did, maybe you or your husband are weak and pitiful, maybe I and Helo have something you two don't. I don't know what it is, but know that I am better than you!"_

_ Boomer's shock and anger broke into sadness and grief; she let out a sob and ran from the room. _

_End Flashback_

Both of the Sharons were barely able to stand by this point, they had both thoroughly beat and bruised each other, that they looked like blotches of red and blue and purple and some of their original skin color, both of them were leaning on each other, hugging each other.

Athena said to Boomer, "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

"I love you, Sister."

"I love you, too."

AN: Please Review! Thanks to those who have.

AN2: I've planned out the next few chapters except for how to deal with Caprica Six (namely how do I get her on _Galactica_ if Hera doesn't need to be rescued) and how to get Starbuck's (or another) Viper to "Earth" and the Ionian Nebula, preferably without killing Kara.


	26. Figurative Parenthood

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "The Passage"

.

Chapter 26

Figurative Parenthood

**0900 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__Everyone, without exception, was hungry. The food processing plant had somehow gotten contaminated and now they had to get rid of everything. That, of course, left them with a bit of a problem; they had 41,420 people to feed and no food. To compound their problems they actually had some food left, namely the fresh foods that were recovered from New Caprica and were being kept in storage, under very heavy guard, on a few of the cargo ships. The specific problem with this is that there wasn't enough food left to feed everyone, so they had to make some hard choices. So the command staff was trying to figure out what to do.

"We're using all food rationing methods available. First priorities are expecting mothers and newborns, followed by children, key personnel on _Galactica_, such as pilots and then the rest of the general population. For the record the Sharons and I stopped eating when the issue first came to light."

"What about Gina?"

"Apparently the Cylon Super Metabolism doesn't count when you're pregnant."

Laura Roslin was on the phone, _"So people, what exactly are we doing to solve the crisis of the week?"_

"Well, for starters we have the Sharons out looking for that algae crap."

Doc Cottle nodded at Sarah, "Crap is a good word for it, it tastes terrible, but it's almost pure protein. But, we're running out of time, we've got about a week before we're all dead."

_"When are the Sharons due back?"_

"Any minute now."

**0901 Hours**

**A Raptor**

**Inside a Radiation Cluster**

**Somewhere between The Fleet and The Algae Planet**

Captain Sharon Tyrol and her ECO Lieutenant Sharon Agathon, were not doing well. Both of them felt sick, weak and had really no idea where they were as the alarms sounded around them in their flaming Raptor.

With the last of her strength, Athena reached over and slapped the Jump Execute button on the FTL drive. They blinked out of the radiation cloud and back into existence on the edge of the fleet. Boomer slowly piloted the Raptor back to _Galactica_; however, in her weakened state she could barely stay conscious, or keep her stomach in. It gave a particularly bad lurch when she banged the deck while landing the Raptor. As much as she would have liked to puke then and there, she couldn't, because of several hull breaches on the Raptor she couldn't take her helmet off and if she puked with her helmet on she probably would have drowned in her own puke by the time she got to the hanger deck.

So on the hanger deck both Boomer and Athena staggered out of their Raptor, pulled off their helmets, doubled over, and started spewing their guts all over the flight deck. The medics and knuckle draggers quickly ushered them through decon, where they quickly informed a waiting Admiral, two waiting XOs, an XO's assistant, and the CAG that yes there was a pathway through the cluster and that it was rather difficult. The Admiral quickly dismissed them to get changed before a briefing later.

**1200 Hours**

**War Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Algae Planning Meeting**

Roslin wasn't pleased with what she was hearing, "And you're sure there is no way around?"

Sarah nodded, "Positive, it would take too long. The only way there is through it."

Boomer interjected, "The problem though is that the currents of the cluster will push you way off course before you can adjust." She adjusted one of the raptor models to prove her point.

"So, that begs the question, how do we get the Algae Crap into food and then into people's stomachs?"

"Can we send _Galctica_?"

"And put it where, Madam President? We're talking dozens of return trips, plus the time to process the stuff, I'd take weeks to get enough to refill our stores."

"Time, which we don't have."

Sarah heard the group arguing and looked over to Bill, who was slowly tapping his chin. Bill usually did that right before he solved a problem. Slowly he took the civilian ship model and put it on the other side of the cluster.

"We bring the people to the food, we put them on _Galactica_ and give the skeleton crews anti-radiation meds."

Lee pointed out a problem in his father's plan, "Except that the radiation would fry the civilian ships' NAV systems. They wouldn't be able to see squat o n DRADIS. There wouldn't even be a way to calculate a jump out."

Bill placed a Raptor next to the Civilian Ships, "We give each of them a Pilot ship, Raptors can handle the radiation, they'll guide the ships through the cluster."

Everyone nodded, it was a good plan. Sarah though was a bit concerned on how the pilots would take it. Oh, well, she'd just wait and see.

**1300 Hours**

**Pilots Ready Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Mission Briefing**

Apollo was finishing his briefing, "Okay, so to review everyone we're going to make five trips through the cluster. Everyone will be responsible for escorting a civilian ship on every jump, getting them their jump coordinates and making sure they don't drift off."

Racetrack had the question on everyone's mind, "Will we be fed when we get there?"

Sarah nodded, "Eventually, Margaret, after we process the crap into something sort of edible." She then addressed the group at large, "we will _not _be issuing stimulants for this mission, they rely on speeding up your metabolism and since you have nothing to metabolize, well, they're sort of bad for you."

Kara, who was standing next to Sarah, started handing out radiation badges "You'll all be issued with radiation badges that track your exposure." She holds up a clean badge, "White like this, you're okay. As your exposure increases, it'll darken." Kara then holds up a dark one that she pulled off one of the Sharons, "If it approaches this, then you'll be pulled from duty. Keep checking your badges. It's every pilot's own responsibility to monitor their own badge."

The pilots were quickly dismissed, Sarah and Kara walked out toward "Camp Oil Slick" a temporary area that had been set up for the civilians moved off their ships for the transit through the cluster, Kara decided to ask Sarah a question that had been bugging her "Colonel, why do you not want me going off on this mission?"

Sarah stopped, turned to her and sighed, "Kara, it is not because I don't have faith in your abilities as a pilot, so don't think that. It's just that I don't have faith in your abilities to keep your mind on the job. Every day, I see you looking at a clock waiting to go home to Kacey. That cluster is not like combat, you don't have something always grabbing your attention. In a mission like this, having something to come home to could get you or others killed."

"But Athena is out there, she has a kid."

"Yes, but she was a mother first, pilot second, she's had time to find a balance. You need that time too. We'll talk about putting you back on active flight status after the mission is over. During this mission you're going to be responsible for overseeing the civilian fleet after it reaches the planet. You need to make sure that repairs get done and people get back to the right ships, that sort of thing. Now go back and see your daughter, because we are going to have a long few weeks ahead of us."

"Yes, sir!" Kara saluted, turned and left smiling, confident in her abilities once again.

Sarah, meanwhile, was approaching Dee's spot where she was yelling out to all the arriving civilians, "There is no food here! There are no rations anywhere o n this ship! If someone told you there was food, they were lying! If you leave this area, force will be used! O nce we get through the star cluster, you will all be returned to your designated ships!"

Sarah groaned at Dee before speaking to her, "Dee, a word please."

"Yes, Colonel?"

Sarah paused, trying to find the right words, "Lieutenant, be a bit more…cheerful."

"Cheerful, sir?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, cheerful, we must keep the civilians happy, after your done shouting that warning, interact with them, reassure them, play with the children, be a mother to them?"

"A mother, Colonel?"

"Just act like I do, Dee. Now in a slightly related manner, when are the _Astral Queen_ prisoners coming aboard?"  
Dee checked her clipboard, "In Outbound Two."

"Good, make sure that the prisoners, especially the former _Pegasus_ crew, and most especially Misters Gage and Vireem, do not, under any circumstances leave this area, if they do, then shoot on sight. Am I clear, Lieutenant?"

"Crystal, Colonel." Dee understood why she was doing this, Gina Gaeta was in a rather, delicate, state right now (but don't tell her that to her face) and Sarah didn't want anything happening to her.

While Dee was thinking this, Sarah had noticed a suspicious character leaving the designated area and decided to follow him. She stopped when she heard him stop and start talking to Kat.

"Hey, Sasha!" Sarah was confused, who the frak was Sasha?

"My name isn't Sasha. My name's Captain Louanne Katraine. You understand me? Sasha, and you, were a lifetime ago. "

" Right, right, because you have this _uniform_ now, right? No more hanging with the sinners?"

Now Sarah was really confused.

"Stay away from me. Do you understand me?" Kat turned away from him and left

The suspicious character called after her, "Do they even know who you really are?"

Kat groaned and dragged the guy into a storage locker, Sarah stopped and listened at the door.

"What do you want?"

"Take it down a notch, baby. Relax. I'm not looking for a business partner."

"Look, I told you to stay the frak away from me."

"Yeah, because if they find out who you really are they'll kick you out of the service. Or worse. Now, do you think that I want that? I don't want that, 'cause that happens, who's gonna feed me? Oh, come o n. You're getting three squares. You think I don't know that?"

"We don't. And I don't have anything stashed, Enzo –"

"Yeah, sure you don't. Oh, we go back, baby. Since when is it a crime to take care of your own? Huh? Inhales deeply: Remember, I know who you are. And I know how to make you happy."

"Get off of me," Kat shoved him and left, Sarah following

"Want to talk about it, Captain?"

Kat jumped, started before turning around, "Talk about what, Colonel?"

"The conversation you had, with your _friend_?"

"No, sir, just a minor disagreement."

Sarah didn't want to confront Kat, unless she had something concrete, "That's fine, for now, carry on Captain." Sarah turned and left to go back to the CIC.

**1500 Hours**

**A Raptor**

**En Route to **_**Cloud 9**_

**In Orbit of the Algae Planet**

Captain Kara Thrace was piloting a raptor with her and Billy Keikeya to _Cloud 9 _to inspect the damage to the fleet. Unfortunately the fleet had already lost one ship, the _Adriatic_, to the cluster, which meant that they would have to redistribute the _Adriatic_ passengers through the rest of the fleet. Currently, they had been dumped on _Cloud 9's _hanger deck, hence the reason they were starting there.

"So I've seen that Jennifer started walking."

"Yeah, she is, Kara, she goes about ten steps before tumbling, it's rather cute."

"Yeah, it is."

"Kasey seems to be getting along with the rest of the kids."

"The bad thing is she's the oldest of them, yet somehow, she has the crew wrapped around her little finger."

"Yeah, I know, Jennifer's the same way."

The Raptor landed on the ship, where they were maneuvered between the rows of _Adriatic_ survivors.

"Damn, Billy, we have to fix this."

"I know, I'll have to go over the manifests and try to balance it out somehow."

They disembarked and were met by _Cloud 9's _Captain.

"Captain Thrace, Mr. Keikeya, welcome back."

"Hello, Captain, how are things?"

The Captain opened his mouth to reply, before shutting it again and motioning for them to follow him. He led them into the ship's biodome. The damage was devastating, parts of the dome were sparking and there appeared to be cracks in the dome itself. The trees and grass were all ash. Also, the artificial sunlight had failed, so now it was just dark, barely lit at all.

"My engineers have calculated that the damage this time is worse than after the initial Cylon attack, they said they _might _be able to repair it, but they're not sure. In the mean time, I've got this section sealed to all but critical personnel and the engineers."

Their thoughts were all effectively summed up by Kara, "Well, this sucks."

**1900 Hours**

**A Corridor**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama, Ships Counselor was currently tracking down Kat. Kat had lost the _Carina _in the last jump and Sarah wanted to schedule formal therapy sessions with her, as well as give her a little pep talk.

She found him talking to that suspicious person again. Sarah had done a little digging, his name is Enzo and he is a person of interest, who deals in "contraband." Not good.

"Captain Katraine, a word please."

Sarah leads her to her office and shuts the door, before pointing to her therapy couch, "Sit."

Kat does.

"So, Kat, I understand that you lost the _Carina _on the last trip through the cluster, I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for, sir, it's my fault, I take responsibility for it."

"It is not your fault Louanne."

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it's just bad luck, although I am going to pencil you in for sometime next week to talk about this. But now, I want to talk about who the frak is Sasha and why the frak are you hanging out with a known narcotic supplier? I want answers, and I want them now!"

Kat seemed to take a deep breath, "She's me. I took the name Louanne Katraine from a kid who died two days before the attacks; it got me through the background checks. I was a drug runner, Enzo was my supplier. We moved stuff, we moved people. Oh, no, if we moved people then we might have moved Cylons."

Sarah burst out laughing, "Why the frak would Cylons need runners to get them where they needed to go, we were expert computer hackers and forgers. I personally took a government transport to Caprica."

"That doesn't matter, don't you see? I lied! I lied my way into the company of good people!"

"Yes, you did, does it matter, though? To me it doesn't, I judge you from when you stepped aboard this ship, not from before. It's how I judge myself. But my opinion doesn't matter in this case."

"Please, sir, please don't tell the Admiral, I'll tell him." Kat, this strong woman, was openly sobbing now

Sarah nodded, "Alright, you have twenty four hours, after which I'll have to tell him, understood."

"Yes, Colonel."

Kat then turned to leave; she had a lot of thinking to do. Why was the Colonel giving her this chance? She didn't know, all she knew was that she didn't deserve it.

**2000 Hours**

**Pilots' Locker Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah walked into the Pilots' Locker Room to check the board; she wanted to make sure they had enough pilots left to do the final run. When she entered, she saw Kat closing a locker, Helo's locker to be specific.

"Kat, what were you doing in Helo's locker?"

"Oh, sir, I just had to borrow his comb for a minute."

Sarah looked at Kat's disheveled hair, "Right, a comb. Yeah, Kat, let me see your radiation badge."

Kat showed it to her, "See, it's white, I'm good to go, sir."

"No, Helo's badge is white, he hasn't been out there at all. Your badge," she opened Helo's locker and pulled out a black badge, "is black. If you go out there now, Kat, you're dead, so why did you switch them. Why would you do something so stupid"

Kat started screaming, "Because it's better me than him, alright. Helo is a father, his daughter, his wife, they need him. I'm just an ex con, if someone has to die out there it should be me. It's better for everyone this way."

"No, Kat, this is just you avoiding your problems." She pulls the badge out of Kat's hands, opens Starbuck's locker and grabs a case from inside, "I'm pulling you from the lineup immediately. When I get back we will tell the Admiral together."

"Get back from where?"

"The Cluster."

"No, there is no way I am letting you go out there. I am going out there."

"Don't you dare to presume to tell me what I should or should not do _Captain_!" Sarah hissed as she left to go get suited up.

**2030 Hours**

**A Raptor**

**Next to the **_**Faru Sadin**_

Sarah "Blondie" Inviere-Adama was in a Raptor waiting to escort the _Faru Sadin _through the star cluster. As her FTL drive was spinning up she flipped up the helmet of her suit and put on the sunglasses that she had borrowed from Kara. As the ship jumped she found herself in a glowing light, quickly glancing down at her instruments she calculates where she is, how far she's drifted and where the _Faru Sadin _is. She flies over right next to it and transmits the coordinates for the next jump. Before she even knows it she's back on _Galactica _where she sees Kat looking at her.

"Kat?"

"Oh, thank goodness you're alright, sir. I honestly don't know what I would have done without you."

"You would have lived Louanne. Now, let's go meet with the Admiral."

**2100 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"So let me get this straight, you're an ex drug runner who lied your way into the Colonial Fleet, why?"

"Because you called for pilots, sir. I was one, and I figured it would be better to be doing something than to not."

"You know, we are not all good people Kat. I mean look at the people in this room. We have you, a drug runner, a Cylon, and me, used to work for the Ha'la'tha crime syndicate. Then we have a drunk XO, a pilot with so many demons that I've lost count, and another pilot that tried to kill me."

"But you've all changed."

"And you have to Kat. You're going to stay on flight status and keep doing what you do best your job. That will be your penance."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Dismissed." But, before she reached the hatch, Adama stopped her.

"Kat."

Kat turned around, "Sir?"

"If you told the truth, I probably would have picked you anyway."

Kat nodded and left as Sarah turned to Bill and looked at him with a questioning expression, "You used to work for the Ha'la'tha?"

"Yeah, I _might_ have exaggerated that part, dear."

Sarah sat and laid her head on his chest as Bill brought his arm around her.

"Shame, it was sort of hot to have a husband that worked for a crime lord."

AN: Please Review! Thanks to those who have.


	27. The Rest Stop

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Eye of Jupiter" and "Rapture"

.

Chapter 27

The Rest Stop

**1300 Hours**

**Algae Command Center**

**The Algae Planet**

**Last Day of Algae Operations**

"Oh, why, why, why in the name of everything did it have to be Algae?"

Dee listened to her boss, Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama bemoan Algae for, what she hoped was the last time. The Colonel had been rather irritating in her continual complaining about algae, not that Dee really cared. All Sarah was doing was vocalizing their own complaints. It smelled horrible, it tasted worse, and it doesn't agree that well with the human digestive tract.

"I mean, why did it have to be "The Algae Planet?" Why couldn't it be Beef Planet, or the Poultry Planet or something that tasted better, like the Wheat Planet or the Cupcake Planet?"

"Cupcake Planet, Colonel?"

"Yes, there used to be this little stand across the street from the Ministry of Education back on Caprica. They sold the best red velvet cupcakes in the Colonies. Oh, what I'd give for one of those now." Sarah stopped reminiscing and turned to Dee, "Are we almost done packing Dee?"

"Yes, sir, just have a few more things and we're out of here."

"Good, I'm going to go check on the teams, hold the fort down, Dee."

**1305 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sharon Agathon had just brought young baby Hera into sickbay. Last night Hera wouldn't just stop crying and today, when she woke up, Sharon noticed that Hera's stomach was as hard as a rock, so she brought her to sickbay. Cottle came up and looked at her.

"What seems to be the problem, Sharon?"

"When I woke up this morning, Hera's stomach was as hard as a rock."

"Hmm, interesting, has she been crying a lot?"

"Yes, I thought she was just colicky."

"It's probably a case of intussusceptions, a minor bowel obstruction, don't worry, we'll have her healthy in no time." Cottle took her over to the ultrasound machine to confirm it.

**1310 Hours**

**Departure Staging Area**

**The Algae Planet**

Sarah was supervising the packing up of the last of the equipment when suddenly she noticed the Chief walking off into the mountains. She decided to follow him. He stopped when he came to a cave and looked down at the ground. Sarah approached him.

"Chief? What is it?"

The Chief merely pointed at the stairs in the cave.

Wait, stairs, in a cave, on an uninhabited planet?

"What the frak?" Sarah decided that this was a mystery worth investigating. She started walking up the steps and found a door.

"Chief, give me a hand with this." The two of them forced the door open and stepped into, a room. A very large and very well decorated room. They were stunned.

"Holy Frak, Colonel, is this another one of those—"

"'Earth is that way' things? Yes, Chief, unless we stumbled on someone else's roadmap, we just found another road sign."

**1330 Hours**

**The Temple of the Five **

**Algae Planet**

"Keeping with the whole roadmap analogy, I'd say this is a rest stop."

"A rest stop, Felix?"

A quick call to _Galactica_ got Starbuck to give Felix Gaeta a ride down to the temple, with a bag filled with cameras and notepads. Gina had wanted to come, but no one was about to let her off the ship, especially with how pregnant she was. So now, the algae collection crew was photographing every inch of the building.

"Yes, sir, I don't know of any way to build this thing in less than a year."

"So they stayed here for a while? Why?"

"To fill up on algae, maybe?" Felix chuckled, Sarah's opinions on algae were well known around the fleet.

"Don't joke about Algae with me, Felix."

The chief came up and gave his report, "Sirs, the radiocarbon dating puts the age of this place at about 4,000 years old."

"So, from about the time of the thirteenth tribe's departure from Kobol, that still leaves the question, gentlemen, what is it?"

"I think this is the Temple of the Five."

"Galen?"

"My father was a priest, Colonel; I remember this place from my a few books in his study back on Caprica."

"Then, we have found the relative direction of Earth. This is amazing," Sarah shouted to the crew, "Photograph every inch of this place, and don't miss anything!"

Calley Costanza walked up to her with a phone, "Admiral Adama for you, sir, he said it was urgent."  
"Thank you, Specialist." She answered the phone, "Bill?"

**1335 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Sarah, we have a major problem up here, four Baseships just jumped into orbit. I've jumped the fleet away, but there's something wrong here?"

_"Wrong, Bill?"_

"Yeah, they're holding their distance, not launching Raiders; really, they're not doing anything." Lieutenant Hoshi signals the Admiral that the Baseship was calling, "Sarah, I've got to go, I have another call. Don't let the Cylons anywhere near the site." He switches to the other line.

"This is Admiral Adama."

_"__Admiral, I can't tell you what a genuine pleasure it is to hear your voice. This is Gaius Baltar."_

Laura and Bill stare at each other with just one thought on their minds, 'Oh Frak'.

**1350 Hours**

**A Corridor**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

As the Cylon dignitaries walked up the corridor they came upon the Sharons who were in their dress blues.

"Well, look at this," Cavil snarked, "Should we salute?"

"Oh, shut up you incestuous bastard."

"Where's the other two of your merry little band?"

"Not here, Cavil."

"Hmm, one of them must be on the planet, I know that Adama's Whore wouldn't miss out on this meeting for the world."

The Sharons drew their guns and pointed them at Cavil, along with the Marines surrounding him.

"Really, John, unless you want to wake up in a pile of goo, shut your mouth."

"Fine, fine, wow you two are bitchy, is it that time of the month?"

The Sharons were about to start toward him before the Admrial called out, _"That's enough!"_

The Sharons barely managed to restrain themselves.

"Good, now, you," he pointed at Cavil, "Get inside before I kick your ass in there. Captain Tyrrol, you will be joining us. Lieutenant Agathon, report to Astrometrics and give Mrs. Gaeta some help with the spectroscope."

She nodded and left, leaving the rest of the group to their meeting.

**1400 Hours**

**Temple of the Five**

**Algae Planet**

"So, people we've been at it for an hour, what have we got?" Sarah was a bit annoyed that they hadn't found it yet.

"Well, from what I was able to translate on the walls, it's the opening of the Colonial Sacred Scrolls, you know, 'All this has happened before, all this will happen again' stuff."

"We've found no secret passages, or cubby holes or anyplace to hide this 'Eye' thing."

"Alright, well, we'll keep looking, but, Chief, I want you to rig this place to blow with G4, it is critical that the Cylons don't get their hands on it. "

"Colonel, you want me to blow up a holy site?"

Sarah sighed, "Chief, we are _literally_ in the _middle of nowhere;_ who is going to notice or care?"

"The gods will."

"I think they would rather that the temple be destroyed then left in the hands of the Cylons, Galen."

**1420 Hours**

**Astrometrics Lab**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill Adama walked into the Astrometrics Lab, where a very pregnant Gina Gaeta was sitting at a computer, Sharon standing over her looking at the screen.

"Mrs. Gaeta, you said you have something?"

"Yes, Admiral, I've found something that's both disturbing and intriguing."

Bill motioned for her to get on with it.

"I noticed some anomalies in the solar radiation belt. I made an analysis of the star's vibrational modes. Sure enough, it appears to be highly unstable. If you can believe it, o n the verge of going supernova."

"When?"

"Soon, it could be five minutes from now, could be next year. We'll only get the warning of a fast helium flash, before we have to jump before it obliterates the solar system. But that's not the most interesting part."

"What?"

"Bill, think about this, the odds of Humans and Cylons coming here, right now, is, forgive the pun, astronomical, like, this should not be happening astronomical."

Bill gently put his hand on her shoulder, "I'm not a religious person, as you both know. So if this is the work of a higher power then they have o ne hell of a sense of humor, and a terrible sense of timing."

**1430 Hours**

**Algae Command Center  
The Algae Planet**

Sarah started her briefing, which, for the record, was much better than the one Crashdown gave a few years ago, "Okay, so we're stuck here, we can't leave, or the Cylons will shoot us, and we can't stay, because the Cylons are probably coming. So, what do we do? We stay."

Lee took over, "We will be setting up three forward observation posts in the canyons here, here, and here. Namely because the Cylons will have to come through these points to get to their objective, the temple. Starbuck will be running recon flights in her raptor."

Anders said his part, "Civilians will be making tyllium mines and distributing weapons."

"Everyone, let me just define how important this is. There is a fairly good chance that the way to Earth could be in that temple. If the Cylons get it, it's game over for us, got it?"

"Yes, Sir!"

**1435 Hours**

**Outside The Hybrid Room**

**Unknown Baseship**

**In Orbit of the Algae Planet**

Caprica knew that Gaius and Three were hiding something from her. She felt that recently they had started becoming a lot more distant. So she had taken to spying on them. Right now she was listening to their 'conversation' with the Hybrid.

"… the five lights of the apocalypse rising scenes revealed o nly to those who enter the temple o nly to the chosen o ne, the chosen o ne, the chosen o ne, the chosen o ne, the chosen o ne, the chosen one, the chosen o ne, the chosen o ne, end of line."

She then hears Three speaking, "Gaius, I am o n the verge of seeing the faces of the Final Five Cylons, maybe the face of God himself. The Five await me. Gaius, I'm so close to knowing the truth."

Six decides to make her entrance, "What truth, Three?"

"Caprica."

"You know, I thought that we used to have a connection; that we transcended the boundaries between people, but now, I'm not sure."

Gaius attempted to placate her, "Well, that's not the case at all. Is it? Because we three, we're integral. We're part of…"

Three would have none of it, "We're finished. Baltar's and my destiny lie separate from yours, Caprica."

"It does not! Where he goes I go, clear, Three?"

"Caprica…"

"_I asked if I was clear, Three?_ Now, since we're obviously going someplace, let's go."

A pissed off Caprica led them to the Heavy Raider bay.

**1440 Hours**

**Starbuck's Raptor**

**Flying over the Algae Planet**

Starbuck felt great, awesome, she realized that in her time off the active flight roster she had actually been missing something. Kara loved staying with her daughter and found her new job mildly interesting, but she had missed the thrill of flying.

She looks down and sees several centurions in a clearing below.

"Oh, frak."

She turns around and starts heading back to the spot in the canyon where Dee is. She turns toward hers and starts transmitting a message using her running lights. Starbuck then suddenly turns away as a missile streaks towards her. As it hits her last thoughts were of Kacey's laughing face and "This was supposed to be a frakkin' donut run!"

**1445 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill walked into the CIC, "Sitrep!"

Colonel Tigh was staring at the DRADIS screen, "Six Heavy Raiders just left the Cylon Fleet, and they're definitely heading for the planet."

Laura Roslin walked in, "Why, they'd know we see them?"

"They're testing us; they want to see if we're bluffing about the nukes."

"Well, we are."

Bill looks at her, "Are we, Madame President?" He turns to the Communication station, "Mr. Hoshi, put ground-strike nuclear missiles in launch tubes four through ten."

"Aye, Sir."

They wait a few minutes, Bill starts thinking about what he's doing while everyone else is staring at him like he's crazy.

"Missiles are loaded, Admiral."

"Open launch tube doors."

"Doors opening."

Laura was looking at him, "Admiral, what are you doing?"

"Getting ready to nuke the planet. Load target package Three Bravo and set ground zero for the underground structure."

"Um, Bill you do realize that _your wife and your son _are down there?"

"Yes, I do."

"Are you really prepared to sacrifice them?"

Bill ignores her, "Colonel, the release of nuclear weapons is now authorized."

"Aye, Sir."

**1447 Hours**

**Astrometrics Lab**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Gina kept staring at the screen. This was amazing, that this would happen, that she would actually get to witness a supernova first hand. It was a scientific achievement that was a once in a civilization opportunity.

It's a shame that the civilization observing it was on its last legs

\ "So how are you?"

Gina jumped, almost falling off her chair before spinning around to face the door; she put her hand to her heart and was breathing heavily

"Damn it, Margaret, don't do that!"

Racetrack chuckled, "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset your _delicate constitution_."

Gina chucked also, "Yeah, tell me about it, I drew the line at Cottle putting me on bedrest."

"So, really, Gina, how are you?"

Sarah sighed and looked at her close friend. Margaret had become her friend shortly after coming on board _Galactica_, and they had stayed friends ever since. But for some reason their friendship had changed when she started dating and then married Felix. Gina honestly had no reason why, she had theories, but no facts.

"Well, let's see, Margaret, I'm as big as a house, my sister and my husband are stuck on the planet with Cylons about to attack them while hoping the stumble on the most important archaeological find in history, oh and the star is about to go supernova, so _how do you think I feel_?"

"Not good, I'm guessing."

"You're right, it doesn't it feels horrible, Margaret, it feels—"

Gina suddenly stopped talking and looked down at the growing puddle of liquid on her chair and spilling down onto the floor. Margaret ran over.

"Gina, Gina, are you okay?"

"My water just broke."

"Frak, okay, let's get you to sickbay."

With surprising strength for her small size, Racetrack picked up her friend and started walking through the halls, thankfully sickbay was only a few doors down.

All Gina could think was, _wow, what a day_.

**1450 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Mr. Hoshi, disable safeties on tubes four through ten and arm the warheads."

Unbeknownst to Gina, who missed the messages in the lab, Bill Adama was still planning on blowing up her husband.

"Safeties disabled and warheads armed, sir."  
"Colonel Tigh, please input your firing code."

As Tigh was entering his code he wanted to make sure something was clear, "Just to be clear, you do realize that these nukes will obliterate anyone and anything within twenty kilometers of the temple?"

"I know. Key, Mr. Hoshi."

Hoshi entered his key into the console.

"Standing by."

"Firing sequence to auto."

"Fire on my mark."

Hoshi stops him, "Sir, the Heavy Raiders are turning back."

Adama looks at the screen, "Not all of them."

"Well, five of them are."

Bill breathed a sigh of relief and made a decision, "Safe all missiles, close the doors."

At least he wouldn't have to blow up his wife today.

**1500 Hours**

**Outside Starbuck's Raptor**

**The Algae Planet**

"Damn Lee for sending me out here."

Dee was currently swearing at Lee Adama for sending her out here on a rescue mission to save the girl that he has such completely mixed up feelings about. Oh, Dee would have done it anyway, Kara was her friend. But, she just didn't think Lee sent her for the right reasons. Not to mention the part where she was shot at and the fact that she was all sweaty, and not the good kind of sweat either. Oh, the things Billy could do in bed, not something she expected from the quiet aid to the president

She mentally slapped her self and told her head to get into the game before quietly called into the cabin as she approached, "Starbuck? Starbuck?"

She entered to see a Kara Thrace in excruciating pain pointing a gun at her, before suddenly lowering it "Dee, why didn't you sing or something? I could have shot you."

Dee rolled her eyes, "And hello to you too, I'm Anastasia Keikeya and I'll be rescuing your sorry ass today."

"Lee sent you?"

"Yeah, I was the only one around."

Kara chokes out in pain from holding the gun, which Dee quickly takes away.

"It's okay, here," Dee sticks her with some morpha, "okay?"

"No, I'm not okay, this was supposed to be a frakkin' simple donut run, not this."

Dee quirks an eyebrow, "You talk to your daughter with that mouth, Kara?"

Kara starts laughing before suddenly stopping and grimicing, "I think some of my ribs are broken."

"Great, I'll add it to the list, along with your hands, and this damn Raptor."

**1505 Hours**

**The Combat Zone**

**Near the Temple of the Five**

**The Algae Planet**

Sarah was currently having some problems, "Harder, get over and reinforce the left flank, Lee, start loading those explosive rounds, and _can I please have some more grenades up here!"_

She picked up the phone and dialed Tyrrol, "Chief, please tell me you've found the eye."

_"No, not yet Colonel, but the Lieutenant and I have deciphered more of the glyphs the reference an eye, a star and an explosion."_

"Chief, is the eye in your hands or not?"

_"No, sir, it isn't."_

"All right, Chief, listen to me. Get your people to the rally point and blow the Temple. I repeat, blow the Temple."

_"But, sir!"_

"We have other ways chief, I have other ways, Gina has other ways, the Sharons have other ways, clear?"

_"…Yes, sir."_

Sarah groaned and blew up another centurion; this was really not her day.

**1507 Hours**

**Starbuck's Raptor**

**The Algae Planet**

"Well, Kara, the good news is that the craft is structurally intact."

"Okay. That means that the o nly thing keeping us grounded is the busted fly-by wire. So you've got to bypass those bundles with datacord from the comm system"

"Captain, I do this sort of stuff for a living, I know how to repair electronics. I don't just push buttons, you know. Now, stop worrying about how I'm going to fix this thing and start worrying about how you're going to fly us out of here."

"I can't fly hopped up on morpha and in all this pain."

"Well than that's just frakkin' great."

"You talk to your daughter with that mouth, Dee?"

They laugh.

**1510 Hours**

**Inside the Temple of the Five**

**The Algae Planet**

Baltar, Three, and Caprica entered the temple. After disconnecting the Colonial explosives they look around.

Caprica threw her arms up, "Okay, so we're here, what exactly are we looking for?"

Baltar zones out for a moment before pointing to the floor.

"That, the hybrid said something about…sapphire blue…shining onto a star." (Blah, blah, blah)

Caprica points at them, "Wait, you didn't come here for the eye, did you?"

**1511 Hours**

**Outside the Temple of the Five**

**The Algae Planet**

Suddenly, in a flash of light, the star exploded, and the mandala appeared above the temple, Gaeta gets Sarah's attention, "Colonel, look. It's the mandala from the Temple. This is supposed to be happening. That's it. I was staring at it the whole time. The sun is going nova. The nova is the Eye of Jupiter."

"Good, so we can still blow the temple, right?" The temple had failed to detonate earlier

"Um, yeah, I guess so."

"Good, let's go." They head back to the temple

**1512 Hours**

**Inside the Temple of the Five**

**The Algae Planet**

"This is my destiny, Caprica, to look on the faces of the Final Five."

"Are you crazy? It's forbidden."

"Why?"

Caprica didn't have an answer and Three stepped into the circle. A moment later she collapsed and Baltar ran to her.

"So beautiful."

"What was, tell me, am I one of you?"

"You were right."

"About what? D'Anna, did you see my face? I have to know, please. Please, stay with me, I have to know! Tell me, I have to know! Did you see my face?! Am I a Cylon?"

Three dies and Baltar steps into the Circle.

"Tell me the truth, please."

_ "Gaius!"_

Baltar spins and looks at Caprica who is surrounded by Colonial Marines, and hears a gun slowly being cocked next to him. He turns and looks into the impassive face of Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama.

"Hello, Gaius."

She pistol whips him, and he falls into unconsciousness.

**1530 Hours**

**Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

After a photo finish of a landing Sarah steps out and greets her husband who is standing by her Raptor.

"Miss me, Bill?"

"Well, I was planning on nuking the planet, so I'm not sure."

"I know, it was the right decision. What are you doing here anyway?"

"Gina went into labor forty-five minutes ago."

"But she wasn't due for another month!"

"Stress according to Cottle."

"Okay, I'll be there soon. There are just a few things to wrap up here."

Bill nods and goes to tell Felix the news, while Sarah turns to the Chief."

"Chief Tyrrol!"

"Yes, Colonel?"

"If you could please get our package to the brig?"

"Yes, sir."

Sarah turns to another Raptor where Saul Tigh was making a commotion, pointing guns at the Six they captured.

"What the frak is that thing doing here?"

"Colonel, stand down before you accidently shoot someone. _She _will be going to the brig, just as soon as we can move the daycare." Sarah nods to Sergeant Harder who drags Caprica off.

**0200 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar Galactica**

Sarah, Bill, and Felix stand around looking at the newborn child in his incubator, while Gina sits in a wheelchair.

"So, have you decided on a name for him yet, Captain?"

"Yes, Admiral, with your permission we'd like to name him William."

Sarah smiled, "William Gaeta, it has a nice ring to it, Bill?"

"I'm honored, Felix."

"Thank you, sir."

They hear someone step in and turn to see Kara Thrace standing in the hatchway with a stack of photographs in her bandaged hands.

"I'm sorry to interrupt. Colonel, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." They step out into the hallway.

"Colonel, yesterday Helo brought something to my attention," she hands over a stack of photographs, "these were photos I took of my apartment on Caprica when I went to retrieve the arrow three years ago. Look at this symbol," She pointed at a ring shaped symbol, "I always used to draw this growing up. Now, look at these," she hands over a stack of photos from the temple, "Look, they're the same, somehow I managed to almost exactly copy something that was drawn over 4,000 years ago. I don't know what to say about it."

"All I can say is that your paintings might be the most important paintings in history. Not to sound all existential, but perhaps the answer will be reveled in time. Right now, we're headed for the Ionian Nebula; maybe you'll get your answers there."

Kara nodded and left, before Sarah went to watch her nephew some more.

AN: Please review, thanks to those who have.


	28. What We Have

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Taking a Break from All Your Worries."

.

Chapter 28

What We Have

**2200 Hours**

**Gaius Baltar's Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__Gaius Baltar slowly hung the strips he tied together over the top of the cell and tied them around his neck before kicking out the chair he was standing on. As consciousness slowly left him and he embraced the darkness he heard shouting in the distance, his last thought was, damn them.

**2205 Hours**

**Joe's Bar**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah was sitting at _Galactica's _newly founded bar, with its founder. They were shouting over the music and other people.

"Well done, Lee, damn good job. This is exactly what a Battlestar needs, a place where everyone can come to get drunk! _Are you frakkin' insane?"_

"Sarah, they're going to drink anyway, at least here we can monitor it; besides, is that not a glass of ambrosia in your hand?"

"Point taken, Lee. Seriously though, this is good for morale. It's a good idea."

"Thank you, Counselor."

Suddenly a marine comes running up to her and whispers in her ear, Sarah's eyes widen and she starts getting up from her seat at the bar.

"Frak, Lee, get your dad, Gaius Baltar just tried to kill himself!"

Sarah took off running for the brig.

**2220 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah currently hated Gaius Baltar; mainly because the inconvenient timing of his mental breakdown had woken everyone up, including poor Joseph.

Doctor Cottle was trying to tell the gathered people, "I told you so," without actually saying the words, "I warned about the dangers of sleep deprivation. Psychosis can make a man do strange things. And Baltar's little hunger strike is not helping either."

Sarah nodded, "I agree with Sherman, Baltar was mentally unstable to begin with. Now, he's just plain crazy, self-preservation was important to him. If that's gone, then he's toast."

Laura summed it up, "Bottom line, we need Baltar to talk. If the other Cylon saw the same symbols that we saw, they could be o n their way to Earth, they could be setting up an ambush by now. I'm betting that after tonight, he'll be more willing. Sherman, wait an hour or two. I want him cogent. I also don't want him to starve."

"Well I don't either, but what do you expect me to do Laura, I can't force him to eat?"

Bill came up with a suggestion, "We can use drugs."

Sarah spoke up, "Um, how about _not_ using hallucinogenic drugs that are way past their expiration date?" Suddenly, she springs up and starts pacing, "No, no, we can work with this. I can work with this," she turned back to the group, "But, I'm going to need a few things."

**1100 Hours**

**Cylon Holding Cell, formerly **_**Galactica's**_** Secure Daycare Facility, formerly Cylon Holding Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah entered the cell and sat down in the chair one of the marines had brought for her before dismissing them.

"Hello, sister."

"Hello."

"Do you have a name?"

"I prefer to go by Caprica."

"Wait, you're Caprica as in _that_ Caprica."

"Yes. I was the one who installed the backdoor into the CNP program."

Sarah nodded, morbidly impressed, "Why are you here?"

"I love him."

"Gaius Baltar? You love Gaius Baltar, you actually love that sick, self-serving, vain, bastard?"

"I know he has his faults."

"Yeah, that's like saying the Ones are only a little controlling."

"Incestuous Bastards."

The looked at each other, then broke out laughing.

"Seriously, though, Gaius Baltar?"

"Yeah."

"Laura Roslin wants to kill him. Personally, I want to give him a trial."

"Oh, no."

"Exactly, so, if you want to save him, you will help me."

"Of course, anything."

"Good." Sarah stood and walked over to Caprica standing over her, "Now, take off all your clothes."

**1120 Hours**

**The Hallway Outside Gaius Baltar's Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah grimaced as Sergeant Harder approached her carrying a flat box. This was all her plan, but she honestly didn't know if it would work. She didn't know how she would feel at the end. In the past, interrogations on this ship (and on _Pegasus_) could have gone better. She hoped to set a new standard in interrogation today.

"Something wrong, Colonel?"

Sarah sighed, "Yes, Brandy, I thought that after I had Joseph my body had slimmed back to its normal size. Clearly, I was mistaken about the breasts. This bra is uncomfortably small," (that was actually true, just not the whole truth) She turned to face the Sergeant, "Did you find them?"

"Yes, sir," she opened the box, "one, and I quote you on this, sir, 'whorish blond wig' and one 'whorish red tube of lipstick with accompanying makeup' pulled out of the personal effects of one 'totally incestuous bastard' known as John Cavil"

"Still, I can't figure out why he had them."

"People can get a bit strange in the bedroom, sir, trust me, I know."

"Is there some story there, Brandy?"

"I was the child of a failed group marriage. Suffice it to say, the experience was…uncomfortable."

"If you need to talk—"

"I got over it a long time ago, sir."

Awkward pause, "Okay then," Sarah put on the wig and makeup before looking at Sergeant Harder, "Well, how do I look?"

"All due respect, sir, you look like a Caprican prostitute, a high-class one, of course."

"That's the idea, Sergeant."

"Sarah!"

Sarah turned to look down the corridor at Gina Gaeta, who was quickly approaching, dressed, in a Colonel's uniform.

"How does it feel, _Colonel_?"

"I'd ask you the same thing you ugly, old, whore."

"I am neither ugly, nor old. Now, a whore? Yes, I suppose so. Ready, Gina?"

"Of course, Sarah."

They then walked into the room, Gina dragging Sarah in behind her, "Hello, Doctor."

"Colonel, what are you here for? Trying something else, hmm, you never seemed like the kind of person to do this?"

Gina threw Sarah down at her knees.

"Doctor, we've already spoken with your friend here. We know that you were complacent in the installation of the backdoor into your CNP program."

Gaius stared at 'Caprica,' "no, no, of course not. She," here he pointed at 'Caprica' while looking at 'Sarah,' "She, she just told me she wanted to get an leg up on her contract for the Defense Ministry. I only let her in, I didn't do anything else, I _certainly_ didn't do this."

While Baltar was looking at Gina, Sarah was watching him, she looked up at Gina and nodded, "He's telling the truth."

Gina nodded and mentally reviewed the script, "Ok, so you just let her in. That's okay; we're not worried about that. What we're worried about now is what the Cylons know about Earth. What did you tell them?"

"I only told them about the pulsar, that's all. They figured out the rest. They have the same resources, the same options, better technology, they figured out the rest. I didn't tell them!"

Sarah looked hard at Baltar, and then looked up at Gina and nodded before standing up and snapping the trick cuffs off. Then she dramatically removed the wig, "The Colonial Fleet thanks you for your cooperation, Doctor."

"What, Gina, that was you."

'Sarah' laughed, "No, Gaius I'm Gina, that's Sarah. I was the decoy, the distraction. I allowed her to observe you without you noticing."

The Real Sarah smirked, "We played you, Gaius."

**1500 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"So you believe him?"

Bill, Laura, Tigh, Sarah, Gina, and Doc Cottle were sitting in their quarters discussing what happened.

"I can tell if someone is lying. He wasn't. The Cylons know what we know. It's that simple."

"Are you sure, I mean, you didn't push him that hard."

"Saul, he wasn't lying! If you only think he is because I didn't beat it out of him," she looks at Saul here, "or torture it out of him," here, she looks at Laura, "or drug it out of him," here she looked at Bill, "or whip, or rape, or starve it out of him," here she looked at Gina with eyes of pity, "then you're just plain stupid. The intelligence is correct. We got what we need. Now, there is nothing else you can do. You can charge him with accessory to treason for his roles in the attack, or treason itself for his actions on New Caprica. But, if you do that you have to give him a trial. A real, trial by his peers, Colonial trial."

Laura, who looked pissed had a question, "What about the Cylon?"

"She could be considered a soldier following orders. She's not the commander or the mastermind. Did she want to destroy humanity at the time? Yes. Does she want to now? I'm not sure, I'll get back to you on that. Now, if you'll excuse me." Sarah turned on her heel and walked into the other room to check on Joseph, everyone looked at the door, Laura remarked, "She seemed rather adamant about the torture idea."

"She takes it personally."

"Gina?"

Gina's voice suddenly took a monotone, "The Colonial Fleet used to offer accreditation to intelligence officers in interrogation techniques. The goal was to use the minimum amount of force to get the maximum amount of information. Alastair Thorne took the exam and failed it three times, for being too sadistic. It was in his permanent file that he shouldn't be placed in an interrogation setting, ever. She knew, Helena Cain knew and sicked him on me intentionally because of that, because she was angry. I still hate her for it, I probably always will."

Gina turned to follow Sarah before Laura stopped her, "Wait, that doesn't explain why Sarah takes it personally."

Gina turned back around, "Oh, you didn't know? Lieutenant Alastair Thorne was _Pegasus_'s counselor."

Gina left and shut the hatch, moving to stand next to Sarah, who was cooing at Joseph, when Sarah stopped and remarked to Gina, "She loved you, you know."

"What?"

"Helena Cain, her next to last words to me were to tell you 'for what it's worth, I'm sorry. And that I loved her.' Trust me, she loved you, and in the end, she regretted what she did."

Gina's face went blank and she moved to leave, before stopping at the door, "What were her last words?"

"'Now get your pretty ass moving, Major.'"

Gina smiled, just a little bit, "sounds like her," before leaving.

**1800 Hours**

**Cylon Holding Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Tick, tock.

Two sisters, one complicit in the destruction of mankind, one who tried to stop it, neither were human.

Awkward.

"So, Caprica, why are you really here."

"I told you, I love Gaius."

"Yes, I will admit, no matter how strange it seems, that is part of it. But don't you hate humanity?"

"I did, I will admit that. But, I changed my mind."

"Explain New Caprica then."

"I said that I changed my mind, not the Cylons, not even the Sixes did."

"So how did you change your mind?"

"I thought that on New Caprica, humans and Cylons could coexist. Clearly, I was wrong. I tried to stop the violence from within, believe me, I tried, but they wouldn't listen. So, I tried other methods."

"What other methods?"

"Ask the leaders of your New Caprica Resistance about the story of the Yellow Dog Bowl."

AN: Please Review, thanks to those who have.

AN2: I would also like to announce a BSG one-shot _For Music Can Make Even an Apocalypse Beautiful _which I have recently posted. A one-shot outsider's view on the Fall of the Twelve Colonies, set in our near future, based off a youtube video I saw, the link to which is on my profile page.


	29. Hypocrisy

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "The Woman King."

AN: I apologize for how long this took. I blame a comedy of errors involving lost notes (on two occasions), crashed computers, and a busy life.

Chapter 29

Hypocrisy

**0945 Hours**

**The Starboard Hanger Deck, AKA "Dogsville"**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah entered the rather, ahem, smelly hanger deck, filled with civilians that had been evacuated off of the damaged ships while they were being repaired. Unfortunately, with the absence of a drydock, it was taking a lot longer than expected. To compound the problem, through some sheer, "The universe hates humanity," coincidence the majority of the evacuees were Sagittarons.

In her wonderful wisdom of delegating, Sarah had placed Karl Agathon in charge. Louis Hoshi was still involved in wrapping up the Truth and Reconciliation Committee and Sarah told him to stick around to help with setting up the Baltar Trial. Kara Thrace was currently busy managing fleet repairs. So, that left Sarah an assistant short, again.

"Colonel, I didn't expect to see you here today."

"Well, Karl, the question of Caprica Six was resolved much sooner than I expected."

After confirming Caprica's story with the Resistance leaders, Sarah then brought the decision to a meeting of the fleet's higher ranking people. Naturally, the question arose of what to do with her, similar to the argument that was held aboard Colonial One several years ago in orbit of Kobol. This time, however, the argument was more difficult because Caprica was single-handedly responsible for the destruction of the Colonial Fleet. Yet, she had a proven track record of trying to redeem herself. Eventually, it was decided that she didn't know any better and was just following the orders of the mastermind, Cavil. So, it was decided to just hold her indefinitely. The only dissenting voices were Laura Roslin and Saul Tigh who, naturally, wanted to airlock her.

"What brings you down to 'Dogsville,' Colonel?"

"It is not Dogsville, Helo, it's Temporary Housing on the Starbord Hanger Deck."

Helo looked at her and quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh, fine. Dogsville! Anyway, I just came to tell you that you are doing a great job."

"Thank you, Sir."

"And to tell you to remind the pilots that these are emergency refugee quarters only and not the pilots private frak rooms."

"Um, I think that Racetrack was joking." Margaret had made a joke about borrowing a cubicle for a, "hot date with a nugget."

"Well, just in case."

Suddenly, Sarah heard something. She started looking around and noticed that everyone was coughing.

"Captain, go to Doctor Roberts and find out what the frak is going on. I'm going to go get Doc Cottle." Helo nodded and moved off, while Sarah did the same.

**1045 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The usual group of problem solvers were gathered trying to solve the latest issue plaguing (no pun intended) humanity.

"So what is it, Mike?" Saul Tigh asked.

Sarah's eyebrow quirked, any friend of Tigh (except for her husband, of course) was rather suspicious in her book. Her opinion of Dr. Roberts just took a hit.

"Melorak Sickness. It starts in the kidneys and then rapidly attacks the respiratory and nervous systems."

Cottle chipped in, "It's a rather nasty piece of business. You have 48 hours to treat it or your dead in three to five days."

Bill asked, "How contagious is it?" Sarah was worried as well; they had enough to deal with without handling an epidemic.

"It's not airborne; it's only spread through skin contact, saliva, sexual intercourse, etc. For now it's confined to the Sagittarons."

Saul made one of his predictable foot-in-mouth comments, "Well, they're welcomed to it."

"Saul!"

Saul glared at Sarah who glared right back, until Bill cleared his throat, "I'm assuming this is treatable?"

Cottle nodded, "A shot of Bittamucin and you'll be fine. But our supply is limited."

"I want the crew that works in that area immunized immediately, and keep everyone else out. Dr. Roberts, since this is a civilian matter, you're in charge."

"We should stress hygiene."

"What about the Sagittarons then, their hygienic system is rather unique, can we convince them?"

Everyone looked at Sarah.

"I've got enough on my plate without trying to change 3,000 years of beliefs. However, if we don't change them, then people will die. Don't force them into changing; just strongly encourage them to do so."

**2100 Hours**

**Dogsville **

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah, even with her delegating was starting to get overwhelmed. Lieutenant Hoshi had just sent her a report on the Baltar Trial Meeting, apparently Tom Zarek was against the idea because it'd cause civil unrest. 'Has Zarek forgotten his previous occupation?' Sarah wondered. Starbuck, at least, was holding her own on the ship repairs. But, the situation in Dogsville had gone from bad to worse. Not only was there tensions between the Sagittarons and the rest of the population, but now, people were dying. Sarah and Karl were being confronted by a man who was complaining about the Sagittarons

Karl was losing his patience, "So, where exactly are we supposed to send the Sagittarons?"

"I don't know, I just don't want to be around them."

Sarah wanted to calm the man down, "Sir, it will just be temporary. Once your ships are repaired everything will go back to normal."

The man left, grumbling about "dirty Saggies" and "stupid Toasters." Sarah just smiled, there were some people not even she could win over. The next person who came in, Sarah recognized as the mother of one of the people afflicted with Melorak Sickness.

She bluntly stated, "My son is dead."

Karl looked at her noticing something on her hand, "I'm sorry, but you know, this didn't have to happen. That's a Soma Braid, right? It's not good enough in this case. This didn't have to happen."

"Yes it did, he was killed."

Karl interjected, "No, he wasn't-" before Sarah cut him off, "What do you mean Mrs. King?"

"I took him to that doctor, everyone told me not to, but I did anyway."

"Mrs. King, you might have waited too long."

"Willie was sick for 12 hours, he was 19 years old. That Doctor killed my son."

Sarah and Helo looked at each other. Then they left to go talk to their dear doctor. They found him treating someone.

"Doctor Roberts, can we have a moment."

"Um, sure."

"Can you tell us what happened to Willie King? His mother is saying you killed him."

"Willie King's mother killed him, he was already three days symptomatic when he came to me."

"Did you explain this to her?"

"Yes, of course I did. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to say to her? 'Sorry, ma'am, but if you would've just turned the corner a little sooner o n your superstitious crap, we could've saved your son?' Get your shirts off, would you?"

Sarah was a little annoyed at this, "_Excuse me!"_

"Oh, relax, Colonel. I'm just going to vaccinate the two of you. After all, if you two get sick, who's going to run this joint."

A few minutes later they were done and walking back to the rest of the ship.

"Well, what do you think, Captain."

"I'm honestly not sure. It sounds possible."

"Possible, yes, but I want to verify. Let's start going through what files we have on Roberts. If anything strange comes up, I'll have Cottle do an autopsy."

"He likes Roberts though."

"So what, He's a Major, I'm a Colonel. Sherman will get over it. We'll start tomorrow, after we brief Bill."

**0800 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill, Sarah, Helo, Cottle and Tigh were all sitting around discussing the current situation. Helo was briefing, "The Doctor's version of events differs from that of the victim's mother."

"What do you mean?"

"Her son started showing symptoms. She immediately took him to Roberts for treatment. The boy still died. In another case, Roberts treated a Sagittaron without the man's consent."

Cottle jumped in, "Well, that's something we probably should have done to all of them in the first place, this disease would've been gone by now. The o nly reason we didn't is we're trying respect the customs of the Sagittarons."

Sarah confronted him, "Ever hear of Patient's Rights, Doctor?"

Cottle rebutted, "Ever hear of Public Heath, Colonel?"

Sarah nodded, damn, he was right, "Conceded."

Helo tried to get the meeting back on track, "But that's the point, he didn't respect them. Sir, people could be dying under Robert's care."

Cottle defended Roberts, "People die under my care every day; it goes with the job."

"Killing them doesn't."

Now everyone paid attention, Sarah was mentally banging her head on the bulkhead, there were sometimes that she was happy to be a Cylon. They knew how to be subtle.

Tigh was really annoyed, "Killing? You are way out of line, Captain. Mike Robert deserves better than this."

"Even if I'm wrong, even if he isn't treating some of these people unethically, I'm concerned he's created a situation down there. It's bad."

"Captain, I have an overcrowded ship with an epidemic on its hands. Now the question is: are you capable of doing your job? And are you going to stop making these unfounded accusations? Are you? Or should I assign someone else?"

Karl gritted his teeth, "I am fully capable of carrying out my duties, _Sir_."

"Dismissed"

Helo, Tigh, and Cottle left, leaving Sarah and Bill alone

Sarah stood up and looked at her husband, "Bill, I assigned him, not you. I happen to agree with him. We will be conducting a more in depth investigation."

"The _hell_ you will."

Sarah crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow. She was right and Bill knew it.

"Dismissed, Colonel."

Not a glowing endorsement, but Sarah would take it, she nodded and left.

Only to find herself in the middle of an argument between Helo and Tigh.

"…What is it with you? You just like being o n the outside looking in, do you?"

"I don't quite know what you mean by that sir, unless you're referring to my wife_, again_."

"Mike Robert is a stand-up guy. A Caprican, o ne of our own. A man I can trust. o n New Caprica, he worked with the Resistance. He patched up my eye. He fought the enemy. While you were snuggled up in bed with your Cylon wife every night-"

As Helo was about to hit Tigh, Sarah reached out and grabbed his hand, "Get back to your office now."

Helo didn't move.

Sarah decided to be a bit more forceful, "That's an order, Captain!"

Helo pulled his arm out of Sarah's grasp and left for his office. Sarah turned and looked at Saul.

"What's wrong with you? I thought you were changing, Saul?"

Saul seemed to take a breath, "I just can't stand him; he seems like a traitor."

"Why? Because he fights for what's right, even when everyone else thinks it's wrong? Because, Saul, that's the definition of a stand up guy, not Mike Roberts."

With that Sarah turned away and went to the medical reference room. Before returning to the Dogsville Office, where she found Karl tearing his hair out.

"Problem, Karl?"

"No, Colonel, it's just Sharon."

"What about her?"

"She was down here with Hera, to get her vaccinated, when we had a bit of an argument."

"About?"

"She wants me to keep my head down and forget everything. She thinks it's bad that everyone is talking about me."

Sarah handed the Captain a bunch of files from the records room, "Hmm, Karl, start looking at these files. I'm going to see if we can track down anyone that knew Roberts from before, see if there's a pattern."

Sarah left, heading for the Agathon Family Quarters, where she found Sharon sitting with Hera.

"Sharon, can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

Sharon nodded and left Hera playing on the floor before joining Sarah in the hallway.

"What is it, Colonel?"

"Why did you say what you said to Karl today?"

"Because I feel…Because I feel…"

"Because you feel that if the ship keeps talking about the Sagittarons they'll forget about you for five minutes and if your husband keeps his head down they'll forget longer."

"Yeah, I guess."

Sarah looked at Sharon, glaring, "Oh, grow up, do you really think anyone on board cares? They've accepted all of us, and our kids. Haven't you noticed? Why do you think I personally oversaw the staffing of _Galactica_? It wasn't just because I was XO. I was able to hand pick a crew that would accept you and me and all the other Cylons on board. I picked the least prejudicial people. Oh, don't get me wrong, they might notice every now and again. They might look at us strangely. The worst part is that your husband is the reason people forgot you were a Cylon to begin with. You, quite literally, owe him your life. Because I guarantee you that if he hadn't been there, you would have been airlocked right over Kobol, or shot by Starbuck on Caprica before that."

"What about you? You and the Admiral argue all the time. Don't you owe him your life?"

"Yes, but I put him, my son, and the rest of this fleet first in my thinking. Sometimes, Bill is just too stubborn to realize it. I don't really worry about my own comfort. Besides, I already paid that debt a couple years ago in the CIC. Think about it, Sharon." Sarah left and returned to Helo's office where he was looking over some papers.

"Find anything yet?"

"Yes, sir." He motioned for her to come around and look at the papers on the desk.

"As compared to the rest of the Colonies the Sagittarons population has a high mortality rate under Doctor Roberts."

"I hate to say it, but that's not unusual, Karl, for a variety of reasons."

"Is a mortality rate of 90% unusual enough?"

Sarah's eyebrows shot up and she nodded, "Yes, Captain, I think we have our evidence now." She walked over to the phone and dialed sickbay, "Sherman, it's Sarah, listen I need you to do an autopsy on Willie King… Oh, you did it already... You didn't find anything… Okay, well what about a Toxicology exam… Oh, you're doing it now… Okay, let me know when it's done, thanks." She hung up and turned back to Helo, "Well you got through to someone, Captain. You got Sherman suspicious enough to do an autopsy."

**0920 Hours**

**Infirmary**

**Dogsville **

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Anastasia Keikeya wasn't feeling that well, she felt like she had Melorak Sickness, so she was going to Doctor Roberts to get some Bittamucin.

"Hey, Doc, I'm not feeling so good."

**0930 Hours**

**Helo's Office**

**Dogsville**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah and Helo were sitting waiting for the results of the toxicology exam when Mrs. King came into the room.

"Your friend, the Sagittaron Officer, she just went to see Doctor Roberts and she didn't look so good." She then left as quickly as she came in.

Sarah swore, "Frak, Captain, go look after her. I'm going to wait for the results from Doc Cottle."

"Yes, Sir!" Helo went off running.

Sarah anxiously paced back and forth in the office, waiting for Cottle's call. Finally the phone rang, "Invierne-Adama."

_"You were right, Colonel, the King boy was poisoned with a toxic Biphosphate."_

"Thank you, Doc, now get down here. Lieutenant Keikeya is in trouble."

_"I'm on my way."_

Sara hung up and ran out into the community, where Helo was creating a scene. A marine was pointing a gun at him. Sarah rolled her eyes.  
"Oh for frak's sake! Marine, put that gun down before you put someone's eye out!"

The random marine obeyed. Doctor Roberts moved over to Sarah.

"Colonel, thank goodness you're here! Captain Agathon has completely lost it; he's trying to kidnap Lieutenant Duala."

Sarah smirked, "Karl, put Dee down, Cottle's on his way. Marines, arrest Doctor Roberts here. He's being charged with murder."

"Now, see here. You're making a mistake."

"No, she's not," everyone turned to see Sherman Cottle enter, "You poisoned that boy, and that old man too. Now where is Dee?"

As Helo led him over to Dee, Sarah jerked her head at the marines, "Take Doctor Roberts away."

**2200 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah and Bill were both lying in bed, getting ready for sleep.

"So I was right, again."

"Yes you were, dear."

Sarah propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Bill, "Do you hate it when we disagree?"

"Yes."

"Why do we do it then?

"Because we have a differing of opinions, which is good, it makes sure we cover everything."

"Do you hate it when I'm right?"

"No. Do you hate it when I'm right?"

"No, but when are you ever right?"

Bill _growled_, just a bit, before flipping on top of Sarah, grabbing her arms and pulling them over her head. Sarah let him, she liked Bill when he was like this. Bill's head was inches from hers

"I love you Sarah Inviere-Adama."

Sarah breathed, "And I love you Bill Adama."

Their lips came closer and closer together.

Later that night, Sarah had just one thought, 'Make-up sex is awesome!'

\

AN: Please Review! Thanks to those who have.


	30. The Tyrol Subplot Chapter

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "A Day in the Life" and "Dirty Hands."

AN: Heads up, the end of this chapter shows a darker side of Sarah.

Chapter 30

The Tyrol Subplot Chapter

**2200 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama was just getting to the end of her shift in the CIC. She usually didn't do it anymore, but since the majority of the fleet repairs were complete she had her assistant back and Dogsville was gone for the moment. The CIC was quiet, after the recent lack of Cylon pursuit, Sarah had advised Bill to relax his guard just a little bit, bringing the CIC staffing down considerably for one.

Dee walked up to her friend, "So, I hear you and the Admiral requested some time off tomorrow."

"Yes, Dee, it's his wedding anniversary."

"I know it's not your anniversary, remember I was at your wedding."

"No, it's his first wedding to that absolute bitch, who only did four good things in her life. Tomorrow, I intend to make him completely forget her."

"What four things?"

"Marrying him, getting him back in the fleet and giving birth to his kids. Yet, for some reason he holds this strange torch for her. He thinks I don't notice, but I do."

"So, do you think it'll work?"

"I hope so."

**0700 Hours**

**Corridor**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sergeant Brandy Harder and Corporal Stewart Jaffe were escorting a medium size box through the halls of _Galactica._ They had picked it up from a very, very secret compartment onboard the ship. Actually, as far as everyone except a handful of people was concerned it was damaged after New Caprica and never repaired. They walked down to the Admiral's quarters and knocked on the hatch. It was opened by Colonel Inviere-Adama, who was only wearing a very sheer babydoll and black boy shorts. Corporal Jaffe lost control of his jaw and Sergeant Harder started salivating, just a bit. The Colonel seemed to not notice, took the box and slammed the hatch in their faces (after thanking them).

On their way back down the corridor, Harder headslapped Jaffe.

"Ow! Brandy, what was that for?"

"For being an overly hormonal idiot."

"You know, you have a bit of drool, right here," He pointed at his face and then headslapped Harder, "Hypocrite."

"Stewart?"

"Yes?"

"How do you think I'd look in that?"

Stewart stopped and looked at her, "Is that an offer?"

"Well, it's not like everyone on this ship has to get married before they start having sex. Besides, with Starbuck, Apollo and Anders cooling their jets and Baltar and his blond whore in the brig, there isn't enough frakkin' to keep the rumor mill busy."

"Not enough- do you remember what we just delivered?"  
"True, are they trying to have another baby?"

"I hope not. Joseph just got manageable. Besides, we're coworkers and you're my boss, _Sergeant_."

"Really, like that matters? The Admiral is frakkin' one of the XOs, the President is frakkin' the Surgeon General, the Deck Chief is frakkin' the former CAG, the only ones on equal footing are the Keikeyas. Oh, and let's not forget Venner and Mathias."

Stewart nodded,"Yes, Erin just got off maternity leave."

"In fact, in real life, my only objection would be Maya."

Stewart looked at Brandy and smirked, "She's open to sharing."

**0702 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah opened the box with a hiss as cold air poured out, leaving a box filled with two things.

Strawberries and chocolate sauce.

She brought the box over to the bed, where Bill was laying doing some paperwork. Sarah gently pried it out of his hands and set it aside before dipping one of the strawberries in the sauce and feeding it to him.

"Mmm, where did you get that?"

Sarah leaned over and whispered huskily in his ear, "That, Bill, is a secret."

Bill leaned over and looked in the box, "You know, there's a lot more chocolate sauce than strawberries."

Sarah smirked, "Exactly."

A few minutes later, the marine stationed outside the door cringed and moved a bit further away as the moans echoed through the door.

**0842 Hours**

**A Corridor**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

A short time later a fully dressed and very sexually frustrated Sarah and her equally dressed, yet not as frustrated husband Bill were walking down a corridor to an airlock that was venting atmosphere.

"I am going to _kill_ Galen Tyrol!"

"Dear."

"I swear it, I am just going to blast him right out that frakkin' airlock."

"Sarah, dear."

"One day, I just ask for us to take one frakkin' day off! Next time, I swear we are jumping in a Raptor and leaving for the day!"

They were joined by Saul who was looking at Sarah with a confused expression.

"Admiral?"

"Just don't ask, Saul, although if the Cylons turned up today, I'm pretty sure she'd blow them out of existence by just screaming at them."

"Gods," Saul quickly put some distance between him and his pissed off Co-XO.

They quickly entered the airlock observation deck, Sarah went over to the intercom, "CHIEF!"

"Sorry Colonel, I really seem to have FUBARed the situation."

"Oh, you have _no_ idea, Chief! Why are you stuck in an airlock, that's leaking air?"

"I was planning on fixing it actually."

She turned to Lee who had just entered the booth, "Major, get him out of there so I can kill him."

"The doors aren't opening, the system must be down."

"There are two sets of doors in that room, Lee."

"Yes, but one of them leads out into," Lee pauses looking at Sarah as he suddenly gets her plan, "You can't be serious."

"Get Boomer and Athena in a Raptor, the Chef and Cally are going out the back door.

**0849 Hours**

**Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The two Sharons, Hotdog, Kara and Lee were standing around watching a Raptor door close.

"Seven seconds."

"Then another ten to repressurize the cabin. That's pushing it."

Athena raised her hand, "Stupid question, but has this ever been done before?"

"No one's been crazy enough."

Boomer shook her head, "Doesn't matter we're out of time, let's go."

Lee looked at her, "You sure you're up for this Boomer?"

"The only one I trust to get my husband out of this wonderful mess is me. My sister will have to do for co-pilot."

Athena snorted, "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"What about me? My wife's in there!"

"You, Hotdog, are a Viper Jock and therefore absolutely useless in this situation. Now let's go!"

**0930 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Within a few minutes it was all over, the Chief and Cally were in Sickbay where their loving spouses were watching over them. After a bit of debrief, Bill and Sarah went back to what they were doing before. Until, Bill remembered something at a most inopportune moment.

"Today's my wedding anniversary."

Sarah groaned and rolled off him, "Damn that bitch!"

"Sarah! She's my ex-wife!"

"_Ex_-wife, Bill, as in former. She was a drunk, an alcoholic and a bad mother to boot," Sarah hadn't meant for the last part to come out. Lee had told her that in a therapy session, hence the reason she occasionally wished she wasn't the ship's only councilor.

"She was my wife, I loved her."

"I don't think she ever loved you."

"I loved her, Sarah, loved, as in past tense. Now I love you, more than I ever loved her. You are what I've always been looking for in life. Not her."

"Oh, Bill" She rolled back on him, leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Prove it!"

And he did.

**A Few Days Later**

**0902 Hours**

**Colonel Inviere-Adama's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Frankly, Galen, I don't see what the problem is."

Sarah was sitting down with Chief Tyrol to discuss personnel issues.

"She was rejected because she was in a 'critical position,' seriously, she's not I can spare her."

"Can you really? Right now, she's the best Avionics Specialist you've got, and you've been undermanned since that nuke hit us on the first day, you lost a lot more people on New Caprica."

"There are plenty of qualified mechanics in the fleet," Galen knew he was stretching it. Those qualified mechanics were blacklisted for a very good reason.

"You better not be referring to _Pegasus_, Chief, because that seemed a lot like a not so veiled reference to the _Pegasus_ deck crew, who were booted out of the Colonial Fleet with very good reasons." Sarah sighed, "Look, I sympathize with Seelix, but right now we need someone to keep the birds in the air rather than flying them. If that changes, then she'll be first in line. That's all I can promise."

The Chief stiffly nodded and left. Sarah turned to Kara, "Do we have any space on the roster?"

Kara shook her head, "Not at the moment, both Squadrons are full. But, I've been thinking about developing a reserve force, something in case we need to put every Viper we've got in the air."

"Do it."

**0947 Hours**

**Temporary Office of the President**

**Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah was helping Laura get settled into her new office after a Raptor crashed into Colonial One.

"This is unacceptable, Sarah."

"Damnit, Laura, I'm an XO not a complaint department."

Laura smirked, "Is that not one of the inherent definitions of your job?"

"Touché."

"A Raptor almost took out my office today, why?"

Sarah sighed, "I'll look into it."

**1030 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill reported, "According to analysis, the tylium was seriously contaminated with impurities, probably a refining error."

Roslin shook her head, "The hell's goin' o n there? That refinery used to be the most reliable ship in the Fleet. Now every day, I start with a stack of messages from the chief - what is his name?"

Sarah looked down at her clipboard, "Xeno Fenner."

"Fenner. Complaining about living conditions, and deliveries, and, uh, spare partsand compensation, if you can believe that. We're o n the run for our lives, and the guy wants to talk about overtime bonuses."  
"Well, we've been more than patient with Fenner and his production problems. Two weeks of sitting here waiting for him to get his act together. I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get back o n the road to finding Earth."

"Well, personally, these two weeks have been helpful, we've finally finished all the repairs from that damn star cluster."

"Well, vacation's over, get him over here."

**1115 Hours**

**Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Currently Sarah, Bill, and Laura were listening to Fenner's complaints.

"I've got people working eighteen-hour shifts for the past six months. How long you think a man can keep that up?"

"Yet, we've got enough to jump the Fleet, what, twice?"

"Two and a half times actually. Mr. Fenner, do you want to be responsible for the death of half of the human race, because if the Cylons show up, then that's what's going to happen."

Roslin made a concession, "Just get the gas flowing, and then we'll talk. I promise you that."

Fenner scoffed, "'Then we'll talk.' It's always 'later.' You know, it's funny that when the gas flows, my phone calls don't get returned, but the minute there's a glitch in the fuel supply, I've got facetime with the President and the Admiral? Hmm. Maybe we should just start having more glitches."

"Mr. Fenner, if you want us to listen to you, making threats isn't going to help. Trust me, threat's just make the President and the Admiral more close minded."

"Well, it's like the book says: "If you hear the people, you'll never have to fear the people."

"Did he just say, 'the Book'? Marines arrest this man and charge him-"

"BELAY THAT ORDER!" Sarah shouted.

"Colonel!"

She turned back to Fenner, "Fenner, you have 24 hours to get the gas flowing before I throw you out of a Raptor mid-flight! Marines, escort him back to his ship!"

The marines nodded and left, they'd take orders from the Colonel over the President, or even the Admiral any day.

"Madame President, once he said 'the book' anything else he said would have been protected under law."

"What?"

"While Gaius Baltar's memoir might be the ramblings of a deluded traitor, said traitor is currently not convicted of treason, therefore it is not illegal to read it. Even if it was, we are already walking a fine line between safety and totalitarianism; this would have pushed us into the latter."

"But-"

"No buts; he's been given a warning, if he doesn't comply, then we can airlock him together. Besides, if we arrest him now, then they'll just have more of a reason to become obstinate. I'll call Chief Tyrol and we can get a team over there."

**1215 Hours**

**A Raptor**

**En Route to the **_**Heiti Kan**_

"So, Chief, our job is simple, get the refinery back on line. Then, you'll do a top to bottom inspection of it; make a list of what needs to be fixed. Once we double the Fleet's Tylium Reserves, we shut it off and fix it. Clear?"

"So, in essence we're strikebreakers, Sir?"

"No, Chief, there is no strike. If there was a strike, then the Colonial Fleet would interpret it as treason. That would be bad. The Admiral and Colonel Tigh don't take kindly to traitors and neither do I. You might say that the Admiral has a 'Helena Cain attitude' about them. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

They docked and were met by Fenner, who was surprised to see Colonel Inviere-Adama in work clothes.

"Surprised, Mr. Fenner."

"Didn't expect you to get your pretty hands dirty, Colonel."

The Chief quickly moved to head off the Colonel, who was about to scream at Fenner, "Let's see what's wrong, Xeno."

Fenner nodded and moved out. Sarah and the Chief hung back a bit.

"Does the man not understand that pissing off his allies will get him nowhere, Galen?"

"Xeno's always been a bit strong headed."

"Hmm." They reached the mining floor, suffice it to say Sarah was impressed, "Impressive, Mr. Fenner."

"Yeah, well, you should see this place when it's up and running. Loud as an A-bomb, just about as safe. Listen, we really need this downtime. I mean, look around you. Next time some machine fraks up, it might not just take out a Raptor. This ship, it really is a big bomb waitin' to go up."

The Chief nodded, "Yeah, look, I understand the risk, but I need to see it working, so pull your guys off and let's fire it up."

"It won't work."

Everyone looks down at the twelve year old boy, "You work here?" Sarah asks speculatively.

"Milo here is the best Grease Jockey I've got."

"Hmm."

"Milo, huh? Tell me, Milo, so why is it not gonna work?" No one answers the Chief, "Is there something you guys aren't telling me? Come o n. ...Okay. Guess I'm just gonna have to have a look for myself. Is that pressure relief? Seals are missing."

"They all are."

Sarah looks back at Milo and then up at Fenner, "And I presume you were just about to put them back in, Mr. Fenner after inspecting them?"

Fenner shrugged, "I don't know where they are."

Milo nodded, "Yeah, they sort of got lost didn't they?"

Tyrol shook his head, "Guys, you can't be frakkin' around with this stuff. The Admiral won't stand for it..."

"The Admiral can kiss my ass…"

Sarah looked down in surprise at the young man, before Fenner caught her attention again.

"I guess when working conditions improve, we'll be able to find those seals. Until then, it looks like this ship isn't gonna be refining another drop of tylium. And that means this Fleet ain't going anywhere."

Sarah's eyes narrowed, and she nodded to the two undercover marines with the deck crew. She picked Harder and Jaffe because of how young they look.

"Harder, Jaffe, arrest Mr. Fenner and Mr. Milo and escort them back to the Raptor," she turned to Tyrol, "Chief, execute a search of the ship and find those seals." She turned back to the two marines and their prisoners, "I tried to help you Mr. Fenner, but you refused it. Let's go."

On the way back, Harder was looking at the Colonel speculatively.

"What's on your mind, Brandy?"

"Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Always."

"Sir, I figured you would side with the miners on this, not the Admiral."

"I am on their side, Brandy. I tried to help them. But, they wouldn't agree to get the fuel moving again. Contrary to popular belief, I've always put the Fleet's safety ahead of people's rights. I just happen to be better at drawing the line than most. Had they agreed to start fueling again, I would have looked into their problems. I still will, but keep in mind we only have enough tylium for two and a half more jumps. Remember the first days after the attack? Remember how many jumps we made? The margin is too close."

**1230 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah, Laura, and Bill were listening to the Chief's report on the phone

_"I've conducted a search, the seals aren't here."_

"Keep searching Chief. We'll start examining transport records, see if they might have left the ship."

_"Yes, Colonel. You know, that they are really good people."_

"Thank you, Chief, that's all."

Sarah hung up on him.

"So, now what."

"We sweat it out of them. If that doesn't work, we'll figure out something else."

"Wow, Sarah you actually want to sweat something out of someone."

"I'm not going to torture them. I have a different idea."

**1230 Hours**

**Outside a Holding Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Are you sure this will work."

Brandy looked at her boss, who was once again in the whorish blond wig and some very serious looking clothing. It made her look lethal. It was hot too.

"Positive, Brandy. Milo's parents were killed during a neighborhood purge on New Caprica. A purge led by a Six. He saw it happen. This was what the Six was wearing. We recovered the entire Cylon wardrobe line from New Caprica."

"Well good luck, sir."

Sarah smiled, "Thanks." She stopped smiling and entered the brig and the cell. She approached Milo, who was sitting in a chair in the middle of the cell.

"Hello, Milo, you've been a _very _bad _boy_. Haven't you?"

"Shut up, you Cylon Bitch."

Sarah kept slowly circling around the chair, forcing Milo to follow her by cranking his head, "You're a little boy playing in a, _man's _world." She reached the front of the chair. In one swift motion she grabbed him by the throat with her left hand, and by the scruff of his shirt with her right, pulled him out of the chair and flung him against the bulkhead, letting his head bang not so gently against it.

"Where are the seals, Milo?"

"I, I don't know!"

She pulled him down so that they were at eyelevel, and then leaned in and whispered, "Where are the seals?"

That scared Milo, really scared him. He lost control of his bladder. Sarah smiled, he was close to breaking.

She started baby taking him, "Aw, did the little boy wet himself? How can he be a big man if he wets himself?"

Then she released the back of his shirt, being careful to keep his weight evenly distributed across the wall, so he doesn't break his neck. She then reaches behind herself and pulls out a gun, pointing it at Milo's head, putting the barrel right against his temple.

"Last chance, Milo, where are the seals?"

Milo was bawling, "The Central Air Vent, they're in the Central Air Vent!"

"Thank you." She gently put him on the ground before Harder came in, pulled the gun out of her hand, threw her against the wall, cuffed her and led her out the door.

Outside, Harder uncuffed Sarah and handed her the clip for her sidearm. She gave an open mouthed Bill a brief kiss on the lips before heading back to the CIC to call Tyrol.

Bill turned to the Sergeant, "Who the hell was that and what has she done with my wife?"

"That, sir, was your wife. If you haven't noticed, she's usually fighting to get her own way, and usually gets it too. But, usually she's fighting against you or the President. Today, you saw her with her gloves off. Notice however, that the kid was never in any real danger. The gun wasn't loaded, he never was in danger of breaking his neck; all she did was scare him. Admittedly, more than he ever has been in his life, but still, he'll be fine. And guess what, he'll never make the connection to your wife, instead he'll blame another Six."

**A Few Days Later**

**0920 Hours**

**Colonel Inviere-Adama's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The Chief and Seelix were both standing in front of Sarah and Kara.

"Chief, you'll be pleased to know that we've started laying the groundwork for a rotational mechanics program, to give workers throughout the Fleet some down time. I want you to lead this program. You know the fleet's mechanical needs better than everyone. The President has assigned Billy Keikeya to help you with the population figures."

"Thank you, sir!" The Chief was happy at this turn of events. He was surprised that the Colonel would do so much, after the Fenner debacle. Fenner and Milo had been released a few days ago after the refinery came back online.

"Seelix. Congratulations, you are the first member of our new reserve pilot program. What this means is that you'll get the full training course, but you'll stay in your current position until needed to fill a spot on the roster, or in the event of a crisis."

"Thank you, sir!" Seelix was very happy, her dreams of flying had gone out the window.

After they left, Kara turned to Sarah, "You know, I never thought anything would compare to flying a Viper, but this saving the Fleet one little issue at a time thing isn't so bad."

"I'm glad you think so, because you're getting in a Viper again."

AN: Please Review, thanks to those who have

AN2: The next chapter will cover the events of Maelstrom and maybe The Son also Rises. Maelstrom will be very different than the series.


	31. The Kara Thrace Solution

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

This chapter covers the events of "Maelstrom"

**Stay tuned at the end of the chapter for an important announcement from the author!**

Chapter 31

The Kara Thrace Solution

_Kara was standing in her apartment on Caprica. She was staring at a wall, a wall with a very peculiar design. The mandala. Suddenly, her view changed to a spinning vortex, before returning to her apartment. She grabbed a can of paint and throws it over the Mandala in the hope it would disappear. Suddenly, she was spun around and found herself facing her greatest enemy, Leoben. They were so close, almost touching. And then they were touching, falling, scrambling, tearing, grasping, biting, and fraking._

**0458 Hours**

**Kara's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

And then she woke up. Starbuck _almost_ groaned in frustration, for many reasons. However, she quickly glanced over at her daughter, Kacey, who was sound asleep.

As the Fleet had gotten closer and closer to the Ionian Nebula, Kara's ability to sleep has seemed to diminish more and more, she wasn't supposed to be up for another two hours. Add in the fact that she was quite randy after her latest dream and her frustration was completely understandable.

After, ahem, _dealing _with her randiness, silently, Kara swung out of bed and got into uniform's underclothes. With the Fleet's logistical situations being solved, with the obvious exception of Gaius Baltar's trial and a lack of recent Cylon pursuit, the Colonel had transferred her back to Active Flight Status. As she walked over to the bathroom she met up with Helo and, surprisingly, Sarah.

"Morning Karl, Colonel, I'm surprised to see you here."

"Hera keeps getting these nightmares. Wakes up crying and shaking. By the time we calm her down and get her back to sleep I'm wide awake."

"Yeah, I know just how she feels. I wish you never would have shown me that picture of that frakkin' mandala. I dream about it and that bastard Leoben every frakkin' night. And it keeps getting worse." She politely left out the sex part of it.

"We're going to start taking Hera to see the Colonel. Maybe you should do the same."

"Really, Colonel, what do you think it is?"

Sarah started rubbing her chin in a pondering motion, "Well, it could be your subconscious expressing it's apprehension about what we'll find at the nebula."

"Sarah, with all due respect, you must be frakkin' high on something if you think I'll believe that load of crap."

They all laughed.

"To be honest Leoben did a number on your head. That sort of thing would usually take years to work through, the best I could do was a, patch job of sorts."

"My mother mindfrakked me long before Leoben did."

Helo chimed in, "Are you sure you should be flying now, have you considered a vacation?"

"Frankly, I think flying is the only thing keeping me together."

**1223 Hours**

**Pilot's Ready Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Damn it, it has to be there!"

Right now, Kara, Karl, Lee, the Sharons, Margaret, and Sarah were sitting looking at Starbuck's gun camera footage. There was supposed to be a Heavy Raider there, unfortunately, no one can see it.

Boomer shrugged, "We already watched it twice, Kara."

"Then this isn't my film."

Athena shrugged, in an identical manner to her sister, "No one else pulled a trigger all day."

"We had Felix patch together all the DRADIS records, nothing came up."

"We all know that DRADIS can be really wonky on this planet, Karl."

"Maybe it jumped away when it opened fire."

"Or maybe it was never there to begin with, Apollo."

Starbuck snorted, "Wow, thanks for the support, Racetrack." Then she stood and looked at all of them, a bit of a crazed look in her eyes, "It was there."

**1246 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"So, was it there?"

Sarah and Lee had gone to Bill's office to discuss the situation.

Sarah grasped her chin, thinking, "I'd put the odds at fifty-fifty."

Bill asked the question on everyone's mind, "Lee, are you going to ground her?"

"Physically, she's fine, mentally…" Apollo looked at Sarah.

"She's a basket case, plain and simple."

"That being said, she's the best Viper Jock I've got and I think that being that is the only thing holding her together."

"If bullets fly, can she still function?"

"Bill, that's not what I'm worried about, look at how she reacted today. If she gets into combat she's fine, the problem is that these hallucinations might pull her into a state we can't pull her out of."

"So, she can function?"

Sarah had moved so she was leaning against the wall, arms crossed under her chest, "Provisionally, yes, if she does, then, we've got to build a safety net."

"So, what do I do?"

Bill looked at him, "You're the CAG, Major, it's your call."

"She flies."

Sarah nodded once and pushed herself off the wall, "Fine then, we'll build a safety net. Effective immediately, due to increased weather conditions, the hard deck has been moved up 1,500 feet, that'll build us a margin to work with."

"What'll that do for us?"

"Think of it as fishing, Lee. You're trying to catch one very stubborn fish. We've made the pool a lot shallower. Now I'm going to get some bait. "

**1320 Hours**

_**Galactica's**_** Slightly Less Secure Daycare Facility**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Ever since Caprica Six had taken over the specially constructed Cylon Cell on _Galactica_, the Daycare had to move. So they did. To a retrofitted weapons locker, next to sickbay, steps away from an airlock with a dedicated Evacuation Raptor, just for the daycare. Oh, and there were still marine guards at the door.

Sarah entered and walked over to a table where Kacey was drawing a picture, of a Battlestar, or a giant asteroid, she couldn't really tell. Sarah squatted down and looked at Kasey.

"Hey, Kasey."

Kasey looked up at her, "Hi, Aunt Sarah."

"Kasey, I need you to help me with something. It's a…gift for your mother."

"Okay."

"Good, here's what I need you to do."

**The Same Time**

**Memorial Hallway**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__Kara was standing in the Memorial Hallway. She noticed Lee walking up behind her, joining her.

"When I die, I want to go right there, next to Duck and Nora."

Lee sighed and shook his head, "Do you have a death wish, Kara?"

Kara turned around, with a bit of a hopeless look on her face, "I'm just a Viper Jock and a mother, and I'm bad at both."

Lee shook his head, "You're a good mother, Kara."

"No, I'm not. Sometimes, sometimes I feel like I'm moments away from snapping, moments away from slamming _my daughter's_ hand in a hatch just like…"

"Just like your mother did." Lee gently moved her over to a set of boxes and sat down.

"She'd be better off without me."

"You know, sometimes I go and pick Joseph up from Daycare because his parents are still working."

"Yeah, I've seen you there."

"He never wants to leave. He has too much fun. But when you come into get Kacey, it's like her whole day brightens, she loves spending time with you; _she loves you_. You're a great mother."

Lee turned away from Kara and looked back at the wall, "You know, I'd want to be next to Duck and Nora too, they're good people. Did you know that Duck's grandfather worked with my grandfather and great-uncle?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, the three of them were all gangsters together in the Ha'la'tha."

"Wow"

**1502 Hours**

**Combat Air Patrol**

**The Fleet in orbit of a Gas Giant**

_"Starbuck, Apollo, how are you doing?"_

"Copacetic."

_"Pulling out the big words today, Kara?"_

"Yeah, and shoving them down your frakkin' throat."

Here, today, now, Kara was in here element, the view was fantastic, the company good, and it'd all be great.

Until, she saw the Heavy Raider next to Lee, "Damn it! Apollo, o ne turkey, my right-three level at ten, ducking in and out of the clouds. Engaging."

Starbuck poured on the heat and chased after it.

_"Starbuck, Apollo, no joy."_

_ "Starbuck, _Galactica, _no DRADIS contact on your Cylon."_

Well, frak them, Kara thought, "Apollo, Starbuck, weapons hot, committing. This time I'm gonna' drag him back and dump his sorry ass o n the hangar deck!"

**The Same Time**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill, looked at Saul and Sarah, "Let's play this carefully," He turned to Dee, "Uncouple the hoses, and set Condition One!"

"Aye, sir!"

They look back up at the DRADIS, _"Starbuck, Apollo. I've lost you o n DRADIS, I'm blind! Starbuck, Apollo. I repeat, I got no sign of you or the Raider. Starbuck, report! Starbuck, report!"_

No response.

Sarah shook her head, "Damn it, what is going through her mind?"

"_This is Apollo. Do you read me? Starbuck, report! Starbuck!"_

"It's always been screwy, but this is insane, even for her."

_"Starbuck, I have zero visibility. Starbuck, are you out there? Kara!"_

Sarah headslaps him, "Shut up, Saul," she turns to Dee, "Dee, get ready!"

_"Starbuck, Apollo. Lost you o n DRADIS. I say again, I've lost you. I'll try and fix o n you. Kara!"_

_ "Lee. I'm not afraid anymore."_

Saul shook his head, "She should be afraid. She's damn close to the hard deck, the real one."

Sarah slammed her fist on the command table, "Damn it, Dee!"

Dee was up at her controls working franticly, "I'm working on it!"

"Work faster!"

Felix called out, "45 seconds to hard deck."

**The Same Time**

**Kara's Viper**

**Lost in a Storm**

_"Godsdamnit! Kara, where are you?"_

Kara ignored him, she knew what she was doing; she knew what her destiny was. She dived deeper and deeper into the storm.

_"Visual, Visual, Okay, Kara, I'm coming to get you!"_

"Lee…I'll see you on the other side."

She kept heading down; she knew what she was doing.

**The Same Time**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Dee connected a last cable to the recorder, "It's ready!"

Sarah smiled frantically, "Wake her up, Dee, play it!"

**The Same Time**

**Kara's Viper**

**Lost in a Storm**

_"Mommy, come home, please, please Mommy Kara, come home, I love you mommy!"_

Kara gasped, "Kasey."

She pulled up hard on the stick but it was too late. Her Viper was breaking up, pieces were flying off, so she pulled the eject leaver.

**The Same Time**

**Lee's Viper**

**Following Starbuck**

"_Galactica, _Apollo, that did it, she's pulling up but she's damaged."

Suddenly, he sees her breaking up

"NO!"

Then he sees a chute and hits the throttle.

_"Galactica, _Apollo, she's broken up, she ejected, I'm going into grab her, because she won't last long at this pressure!"

With the perfection and insanity normally exhibited by the woman he was rescuing, Lee swooped down, and grabbed her chute with his gun, before swinging up and around back toward _Galactica_.

He keyed his mike, "Starbuck, Apollo, do you copy?"

No response.

"Kara, can you hear me?"

Again, no response.

"_Galactica,_ Apollo, on my way back but Starbuck is unresponsive. Clear the landing bay and have a medical team standing by."

Lee silently worried about his long time friend.

**1933 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill and Sarah were standing over Kara's bed in sickbay where she was resting.

"Bill, she looks so peaceful."

"I know."

Sam Anders and Lee walked over as well, before Doctor Cottle joined them.

"Well, she's alive, physically there's nothing wrong with her. She had a rather severe concussion, but that's healing nicely. The issue is that she's in a coma."

"A coma?"

"Yes, Admiral, a coma."

Sarah looked back at Kara, "Sherman, how long until she wakes up?"

"That is totally up to her, it could be days, or it could be years."

At that pronouncement they all looked at the sleeping pilot in a very different light, before a thought came into their heads, what to do with her daughter? Finally, they wondered just what was going through the head of the crazy woman they love.

AN: Please Review, thanks to those who have

AN2: As you can tell, we are coming to the end of the third season. There will be one more chapter that will cover, "The Son Also Rises," and "Crossroads." So, I will now announce my next _Battlestar Galactica_ Project:

_**The Peacemaker**_**- a **_**Battlestar Galactica, 2003 **_**and **_**Caprica **_**fanfic**-  
What happens when Admiral Lacy Rand, head of the Colonial Diplomatic Corps, and the creator of the Cimtar Peace Accord (Also known as the Cylon-Human Armistice) comes aboard _Galactica _for her Decommissioning Ceremony.

What happens when the Cylons attack, who are these humanoid models and what happened to the Monarchy? Most importantly where are the Co-Queens of The Cylon, Zoe and Tamara?

Currently have one chapter written. AU at the end of "Apotheosis" on _Caprica._

**At the end of the next chapter there will be an exclusive sneak peek of **_**The Peacemaker**_!


	32. The Coming Storm

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: Due to "Apotheosis," the _Caprica_, series (regrettably) finale, another slight AU has formed. As far as this story is concerned there is only _one _William Adama

This chapter covers the events of "The Son Also Rises"

Chapter 32

The Coming Storm

**2000 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**Two Weeks after Kara's Coma Starts**

Bill and Sarah were sitting up in bed. Sarah was working on her latest prosecution notes for the Baltar case. Bill was reminiscing; he was looking through Kara's file, smirking at all the various letters of reprimand she had gotten, before he burst out laughing.

"What?"

He turned to his wife throwing a paper at her, "Here, read it."

_"You were always a like a father to me…See the resemblance? Happy Birthday, Young Man. _And that picture!" Sarah burst out laughing.

"She was cute, sometimes." Bill's mood sobered considerably.

Sarah pulled him close as he started crying.

"Shh, Bill, she'll be fine, she is fine."

"I know, it's just so hard."

"Yes, yes it is, but we have to stay strong, for Kacey."

"Right." Bill got control of himself.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I thought you and Kara were seeing each other?"

_"What?"_

"About a week after I came onboard, you two were sitting in the pilots mess drinking ambrosia."

"I don't remember that."

"Yeah, well, you were pretty wasted. There was this moment, that you both looked at each other, with this expression that since then I'd only seen you use with me."

Bill made a face, it was a very loving and endearing expression, "Yes, Bill, that one. Anyway, you stared at each other for about five seconds or so before you burst out laughing."

"Wait, I think I remember it. It was-"

"Yes, I know now it was your anniversary."

"Besides that, it was also the day that Kara and Zak were supposed to get married."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Zak kept saying something about replacing it with a better day. You know what the strange thing was?"

"What?"

"That time, I was thinking of you."

_"Me?"_

"Yeah, I liked you from the moment I saw you."

"So then, who was Kara thinking about?" Neither had an answer, Sarah smirked, continuing her story, "The next day I saw you and Kara in your quarters."

Bill's eyes widened, did he and Kara…?

Sarah pressed on, "You were both slumped over your desk, reaching for the ambrosia. You two had the most peaceful expressions I had ever seen. It was a good thing, because the hangover was monstrous."

Bill burst out laughing, just as there was a knock at the door, "Enter."

Maya entered holding Joseph and Kacey's hands; she nodded to both of them, "Admiral, Colonel."

"Hello Maya, how were they today?"

"Good, Kacey's been nervous again, she's been asking to see her mother."

Sarah nodded, her face frowning a bit before looking back at Maya and smiling, "How's things going with Brandy?"

Maya blew through her teeth, "Okay, we're 'negotiating' and dating. So far, things are going alright, I think. Group marriage was really not something I considered before now."

"If you need any help, let me know."

"I will." With that, Maya Jaffe turned on her heel and left.

Sarah turned her attention to Kacey, "Kacey, do you want to go see your mother?"

"Has she woken up?"

"No, not yet."

"Doesn't she know that I miss her?"

Sarah knelt down and started rubbing the girl's shoulders, Bill kneeling beside her, "Oh, Kasey, believe me, she knows, she just can't wake up yet."

"Why not? Doesn't she loves me?"

Sarah's eyes gained a mock sternness, "Kacey Thrace, you listen to me. Your mother loves you more than anything or anyone else in the universe. She just can't wake up at the moment. She's in a place where time has no meaning, she doesn't realize how long it's been. She'll wake up when she's ready, when she can, I promise you that."

Kacey nodded and smiled, "Okay, let's go see mommy now, Grandma Sarah."

Sarah laughed as they walked out the door, "How many times have I told you to not call me that?"

Joseph turned to his father and blew a raspberry, "Girls."

Bill chucked, "Sometimes I feel the same way, son. So, how was school today?"

**0800 Hours, the Next Morning**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill and Sarah walked into the CIC right on time; they were met by Colonel Tigh, who snapped to attention, "Your Honor!"

"What?"

"You haven't heard? Where have you been? They just announced it, you won the lottery. You now own exactly o ne-fifth of Baltar's skinny ass. You're o ne of five captains picked to serve o n the judge's tribunal."

"Colonel, I'm sure if my husband is a judge, then he will carefully weigh the facts before making a just decision." She turned around and looked to Lieutenant Keikeya, "Dee, why is this the first I heard of this?"

"I was about to call you, when you came in."

"Well, you best get your husband on the phone. He just became the new prosecutor."

Dee nodded, smiling and groaning at the same time. Smiling because her husband was about to come aboard for an extended period of time. Groaning because he had to work, so there wouldn't be a lot of time for frakkin'.

Suddenly, the Condition Two alert went off.

Sarah looked around, "What?"

Captain Gaeta reported back while listening to the wireless, "Explosion on the Hangar Deck. Hughes, Baltar's Lawyer, is dead, Racetrack is wounded."

Bill looked upward in frustration, "And here I was hoping for a quiet day."

**0930 Hours**

**Press Briefing Room**

_**Colonial One**_

__"Madame President!"

Roslin pointed, "Rob."

"How do you intend to replace Baltar's attorney, will that be by lottery."

Sarah stepped up to the podium, "We have a list of alternates and are working our way through them."

"Madame President! Colonel!"

Sarah pointed to the reporter who shouted out colonel, who asked, "Are you sure it's fair for you to be working on the trial now that your husband has been selected as a judge?"

"I have stepped down as prosecutor, that role will be taken by the President's Chief-of-Staff, Billy Keikeya, I am only working in dealing with the logistics of the trial."

After that, Roslin spoke some more about not canceling the trial, or bowing to terrorism before the Adamas and Roslin left the podium and reentered her office.

Bill sighed, rubbing his face, "So, now what?"

Roslin sat on her desk, "Well, everyone on our alternate list is bowing out due to the threat to their life."

Sarah pointed out, "All except one."

"You can't be serious."

And so, Romo Lampkin, became the defense attorney of one Gaius Baltar.

**1330 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"You're grounding me?"

Bill shook his head, "No, Lee, whoever set that bomb is one of our own; we can't trust anyone else with Lampkin's security."

"Just say it, Dad, you're pulling me."

Sarah interjected, "No, Lee, I am. I heard what happened in the briefing today, you've lost your focus. That loss of focus almost got Kara killed. I don't want to see the same happen to you."

"Besides, defending Lampkin is a full time job. Boomer will be taking over as CAG in the meantime."

"You need to get out of the cockpit for a bit. Work it out."

"Work it out, right, anything else?"

"Nope."

"Then, by your leave, I've got work to do."

He snapped to attention, turned on his heel and left.

Bill sighed, "He could have taken that better."

Sarah nodded, "He thinks you're being overprotective."

"Maybe we are."

"Bill, you almost lost a daughter two weeks ago, do you want to lose a son."

"Hmm."

**0800 Hours, the Next Day**

**A Maintenance Locker**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

A small group of people were standing around discussing the issue of the bomb that almost killed Lampkin, Lee, and Athena during the midwatch.

Sarah started the conversation, "Chief, your assessment please."

"The Frakker meant business this time. That thing had gone off, we'd be picking up Raptor and people parts with tweezers."

Captain Kelly slammed his fist on the table, "Every day I wave jocks out there. A lot of them are my friends. People I care for and love. It's hard enough watching them die in battle, but rickshawing Baltar's frakkin' attorney around? Frak that."

Sarah nodded, "Calm down, Captain, we all hate this bomber, but we need to work on finding him."

Kelly looked at her, grimaced and nodded.

Cally was standing arms crossed against a bulkhead, "I believe that the Cylons want us to destroy ourselves and this is how they're doing it. By planting bombs, making suspicious of each other. You know what's funny? By the time the Cylons catch up with us they won't even have to attack. They'll just clean up the mess we made. I think they're here."

Sarah shut her down, "That, Specialist, is the most _ridiculous_ thing I have ever heard! The Cylons _love _Gaius Baltar. The Six in our brig loves him literally. But think about it, this trial is dividing the fleet apart. Killing Baltar will only hurt that plan. You're thinking small scale Costanza. Try, well, every human onboard.

"That being said, we need to investigate." She turned to the Agathons, "Lieutenants Agathon. You're in charge of the investigation, I want answers and I want them now. Everyone but them get out!"

After everyone else left she turned to the Agathons, "Start with Specialist Costanza and people on New Caprica, then work your way down the list."

The Agathons nodded and Sarah left.

**2100 Hours**

**En Route to Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Injunctions and gag orders and bombs, oh my! Will this frakkin' trial never go right!" Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama, logistical coordinator for the trial of President Gaius Baltar threw her hands up in the air. Her stepson, Lee rolled his eyes

"There haven't been any injunctions or gag orders yet."

"Lampkin would say that it sounds sexy," the Agathons pulled alongside Sarah and Lee, "any news on the bomb?"

"Same type as the others, same composition, same everything. Definitely the same guy."

"Or girl," Sharon chimed in.

"Why did he want his bag?"

"We have no clue."

"Are you sure there isn't a bomb in there?"

Lee rolled his eyes again, "Yes, I am sure there is not a bomb in there."

"Good."

They arrived in sickbay where Layne Ishay met them, "You all have five minutes."

Sarah nodded, "Thank you, Doctor."

Romo seemed to perk up when he saw them, "Thank you, Major, and before the hounds got to it. Go ahead, open it."

They did, and they were surprised by the contents.

"The President's glasses, she looks better without them. They say serious, serious catches on in the courtroom."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Lee, see to it that the President gets her glasses back, please."

"Your husband's button, Colonel. Look at it, how tarnished it is, not at all shiny like yours. He's had enough of the fighting for a while; he'll be content firing in the courtroom."

Helo crossed his arms, "We've all had enough of the fighting."

Lampkin looked at him over his sunglasses, "Have you now?"

"What are all these things?"

"My demons, I 'borrow' things."

Sarah then pulls out a round disk and looks at it, her eyes widened.

"Lampkin where did you get this!"

He told her.

Sarah looked at the Agathons and said in a strangled tone, "Get the marines, go."

They left, Athena smirking the whole way.

Sarah said in a faint voice, "Imagine that, a case solved by kleptomania."

**2110 Hours**

**Outside the Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah checked the clip in her gun one more time before turning to the marines and the Agathons. "Remember, the target is to be taken alive. Shoot only if shot at, and only to wound, is that clear?"

"Yes, sirs," were muttered and they moved out.

The fire team entered the hangar deck and discreetly fanned out. Sarah and the Agathons were quietly talking as they walked over to the Tyrols and Captain Kelly.

Sarah quietly muttered, "Sitrep?"

Kelly nodded, "Target is on the way here. The marines?"

Sarah glanced around, "In position."

Galen looked a bit worried, "Colonel, are you sure?"

"Yes."

"It's hard to believe."

"Not really."

"Colonel?"

"If you want a lecture on criminal profiling, Galen, I'll be happy to accommodate you at another time."

A marine squakked in her ear, _"Target is entering, directly at your 7 o'clock."_

The Agathons, Boomer and Sarah discreetly unclipped their holsters.

_"Target is in optimal takedown."_

Sarah muttered one word, "Execute."

The four officers spun to face their bomber, guns raised just as the marines started running toward their target, rifles raised, screaming, "Hands up! Now, now, now! We will fire, hands up!"

The bomber turned to run; the Chief shouted, "No, don't!" just as Sarah looked to the Sharons. "Do it, wound only, no kneecaps."

Boomer called, "Left," just as Athena called, "Right."

Simultaneously they pulled the trigger and the bullets flew true, right into their targets legs. The bomber screamed and fell to the floor, but kept trying to crawl away. Sarah calmly walked over to the bomber, her long strides reaching her quarry quickly. Sarah put her boot on the bomber's back and the human withering beneath her screamed. Sarah calmly spoke over the noise as the marines were cuffing the terrorist.

"Specialist Callandra Costanza, you are under arrest for the murder of Allen Hughs, the attempted murder of Major Leland Adama, Lieutenant Margaret Edmondson, Lieutenant Sharon Agathon, and Romo Lampkin, acts of terrorism against the Twelve Colonies of Kobal, destruction of Colonial Fleet property, and unauthorized use of munitions."

"Frak you, you Cylon Toaster Bitch!"

"You forgot a, sir, there, Cally"

"You frakkin' Cylon Toaster Bitches, all of you! Leading us to our end, stealing my man"

Boomer's eyes widened, "Your man?"

"You know I wanted the Chief, toaster, yet you had to get your claws into him first! I wanted Galen, but no, I had to settle for that frakkin' idiotic Hot Dog!"

Captain Sharon Tyrol saw red and drew her sidearm again, pointing it at Cally's head, "Permission to accidently discharge a firearm into the Specialist's head, Colonel?"

Sarah almost considered Sharon's request before shaking her head, "Denied," She stepped off Cally and motioned to the marines, "Take the prisoner to sickbay, and then stick her in a cell next to President Baltar."

Cally screamed, cursing as she was dragged to sickbay.

Galen looked shocked, "Colonel, that was, brutal."

"I don't like traitors and I don't like terrorists. I like safety, and order, and rule of law. Cally went against all of those things"

The Chief shook his head, "I never knew she was that off base. I thought it was just a little crush."

Sarah just nodded, but she wasn't listening. Sarah couldn't help shake the feeling that this was only the beginning, that things were rapidly coming to a head.

A storm is coming.

AN: Please review, thanks to those who have.

AN2: Cally's arrest wasn't just a flippant thing. It will become crucial later on.


	33. Can This Day Get Any Worse?

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

**Stay Tuned at the end of this chapter for an exclusive sneak peek of **_**The Peacemaker, **_**a **_**Battlestar Galactica/ Caprica **_**Crossover.**

AN: Welcome to the Season 3 Finale of _The Defector_. This is the longest and in my opinion, the best, chapter I've ever written. It will really show what kind of person Sarah, and the rest of our rag tag fleet is. It perfectly combines original dialogue from the episode with my own blend of well, everything.

This chapter covers the events of "Crossroads"

Chapter 33

Can This Day Get Any Worse?

**1130 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**En Route to the Ionian Nebula**

"We finally fixed the FTL on the _Greenleaf_."

"So we can jump again, Captain?"

Felix nodded, "Yes, sir."

Sarah smiled, finally answers were close, "How many jumps until we get to the nebula?"

"I'd estimate an even dozen."

"And yet, no Cylons. Does anyone else think that's a little strange?"

Bill nods, "Captain, order the trailing Raptor to wait an additional six hours before catching up to the rest of the fleet."

"Yes, Sir," Gaeta was about to turn and leave before Sarah stopped him.

"Felix?"

"Do you know where Colonel Tigh is, I thought he was supposed to be here by now."

Bill looks at his watch, "True, he's a half hour overdue."

"Last I heard he was at Joe's being, well, being Tigh."

"Being Tigh?"

"Getting drunk and fiddling with the wireless."

"Oh, well it's a good thing I don't have to go to the _Astral Queen_ today."

Bill looks at her, "You've given up on your latest pet project?"

"Every counselor has their limits, Bill, mine is having Cally throw a tray of human waste at me."

"You looked fine when you got home last night."

Sarah smirked, "I have excellent reflexes."

Bill smirked, "Oh, I know you do."

Felix fled; he didn't need to hear about the sex life of his commanding officer and his wife's identical twin.

"The point is though that I have a session with Hotdog in an hour."

**1132 Hours**

**Office of Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama, on loan to Chief Prosecutor Billy Keikeya**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"5,197. Are you sure that's right Louis?"

The President's Chief-of-Staff turned Chief Prosecutor Billy Keikeya turned to his second chair, the military liaison to everything and one of 'Sarah's Hands' as they were known, Louis Hoshi.

"Yes, Mr. Keikeya, I'm positive."

"I know, it's just every time I look at the casualty numbers, they seem too high, and how many times do I have to tell you to call me Billy?"

"Right, sorry, so is your opening statement ready?"

"Yes, Louis, I didn't get to be the Chief-of-Staff to the president without becoming a skilled orator."

Hoshi smirked, "Right, like we have a lot of civil servants to pick from, sir."

"For the last time, it's Billy!"

**1135 Hours**

**Raptor 289**

**Trailing the Fleet**

"Galactica, this is Raptor 289, we're clear and in position for rear guard picket."  
_"Roger, 289, have fun Boomer."_

"You have fun with your little show, Blondie, 289 out." Sharon turned to Racetrack, "Twelve hours and counting."

"Twelve hours of us sitting here with our asses hanging out waiting for some random Cylon to come along and—"

"For frak's sake, just get laid already Margaret!"

Racetrack grumbled, "Shut up and deal, _sir_."

Boomer laughed

**1200 Hours**

**The Trial of President Gaius Baltar**

**Starboard Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Before beginning, Billy Keikeya takes a breath and collects himself, stands up and looks to the audience behind him.

"We have all lost some one. We've lost our civilization. Our very way of life has gone from a vast collection of cultures and societies to what you see now. We have lost so much that the only way we can measure it is in numbers. The day humanity settled on New Caprica, with Gaius Baltar as our leader and protector there were 44,035 of us. The day we left, there were 38,838. In our time on New Caprica, we lost 5,197, to bombings, shootings, kidnappings and tortures that, a few short years ago, would have been well beyond our imagination. 5,197 of the survivors of the human race, lost.

"The citizens of the Twelve Colonies elected Gaius Baltar. They entrusted him with the fate of their civilization, and their lives. What they received instead was a reign of terror that is almost beyond imagination. Almost, because most of you in this room today experienced it. Instead of governance, he gave us tyranny. Instead of justice, oppression. Instead of a president, we got a man who was at first just ineffectual and lazy. When the Cylons came, that man became a murder. Today, we, humanity, must hold him accountable. Gaius Baltar is not a victim. He actively chose to side with the Cylons and chose to kill his fellow humans. For that, he must pay."

In any other venue, a speech such as that would be worth thunderous applause. Here, it was met with silence. Sarah looked at her watch, and just as Lampkin was about to start his opening statement, she left.

**1210 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters/ **_**de Facto **_**Office of Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"How could she do this? How? I mean, we have friends who are Cylons, we both have the greatest amount of respect for you Colonel. How?"

Sarah looked at Brendan Costanza, who was really in some sort of frenzy. He just couldn't understand how his wife could do something so stupid.

"I think, Hotdog, you're thinking of your opinions as opinions your wife shares. She doesn't. I have no idea how she went so far off the deep end, but she did."

"Is it my fault?"

"Why would you think that?"

The phone buzzed, "Hold that thought Brendan."

Sarah went and answered the phone, "Inviere-Adama."

A few moments passed as Sarah listened, before she shouted, _"He did what?" _a few more moments and then , _"He did what? _And you did nothing? Bunch of frakkin idiots, all of you. Gather up in the wardroom and I'll deal with it."  
Sarah then turned back to Hotdog, "I'm sorry Lieutenant, we'll have to reschedule. The Fleet's entire legal system just blew up in my face."

**1215 Hours**

**Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah stormed in as the marines guarding the occupants of the wardroom snapped to attention. She was furious and gave the judges, the lawyers, and the defendant a smouldering glance.

"I swear, you all are like children! Children! I can't leave you alone for _ten minutes _before you mess something up!" She then turned and looked at each of the problem people, "Mr. Lampkin, you are supposed to be a lawyer. Therefore, you're supposed to have knowledge of this little thing called the _law _and courtroom procedure. So why _the frak did you enter a guilty plea if you didn't mean it!"_ She turned to Lee, "Major, I assigned you to Mr. Lampkin in the hope that you would balance out his grandstanding, and find the truth clearly I was wrong."

Then she turned to Bill, "William Adama, I knew you were a blockhead when I married you, yet I did it anyway. _But to accept a guilty plea when the person who gave it clearly didn't mean it and skip directly to sentencing!_ Are you a moron? Oh, and let's not even start on the fact that he was halfway to an airlock before someone had enough sense to call me!"

"If I may interrupt…"

As one, the five judges, four lawyers and de facto Head of the Judiciary turned and shouted, _"Shut up, Gaius!"_

Gaius quickly shut up.

Sarah turned to her next victim, but before she could start speaking an equally furious Laura Roslin entered, pointing her finger at Gaius Baltar, "Why is that thing still here."

Sarah had to actively restrain bursting out laughing, "Now, Laura, we talked about this, Cylons are people too, besides, he isn't a Cylon."

"He entered a guilty plea, he was sentenced to death. Why is he still alive? Do I have to do everything by myself around here? Marine, give me your sidearm."

"Brandy, don't you even think of doing that!"

"Colonel, I am the President of the Colonies!"

"And I am the Head of the Judiciary and the Attorney General, or did you conveniently forget that you appointed me to those roles! I am declaring an immediate mistrial and nullifying the verdict!"

"You can't do that!"

"Watch me! Master-at-Arms Harder, escort the President back to her ship, she is henceforth banned from this ship for the duration of the trial, except when testifying."

Brandy dragged the President out, shouting about all the bad things she was going to do to the sergeant, until Brandy shut her up with one simple statement, "Madame President, you don't scare me worth a frak. The Colonel, on the other hand, terrifies me."

"Because she's a Cylon?"

Brandy shook her head, "No, ma'am, because of how much I trust her. If she ordered me to throw you out an airlock, Hades, if she ordered me to throw myself out an airlock I'd do it without hesitation. She has the respect of everyone in this Fleet that deserves her. You, on the other hand, are a despot, struggling to hold on to power."

"I'm not a despot, I'm the President of the Colonies."

"And if Sarah Inviere-Adama wanted you out of office, you would be in an instant. But she'd never do that, because for some gods known reason she respects you. And she respects the rule of law."

Laura Roslin stopped and shook her head, "You're right you know. Years ago, I remember her in my office, defusing a coup that was about to turn into a blood bath." Laura sighed, "I screwed up, didn't I?"

"Yes, ma'am you did."

"I'd better go apologize." Laura was about to turn around when Brandy grabbed her arm and kept escorting her back to _Colonial One_.

"You can, ma'am, from your ship. The Colonel would shoot me if I let you back in there now."

Laura laughed.

Meanwhile, back in the wardroom, Sarah was chewing out her head judge.

"Doyle, I picked you for head judge because you're the only person I trust to keep this group of people in line. You failed."

Doyle Franks was a strong woman. She was the only captain in the Fleet that could keep _Prometheus_ under control. She'd never admit it in 150,000 years, but that moment when she felt like she had failed was the worst moment in her life. She'd also never admit that she had the hots for the Colonel.

"I'm sorry."

"I know, Doyle, it's fine, thank you for calling me. It made up for it." Sarah would never embarrass Doyle by admitting that she knew how Doyle felt about her. After all, between her Cylon senses and her counseling training, she was rather good at reading people.

"Right, now then, judges, I thank you for your service. However in the interest of fairness, none of you can be allowed to continue to serve. You're dismissed with the thanks of the Colonies."

The judges nodded and left. Bill lingered.

"We'll talk later, Bill, we're fine."

Bill nodded and left.

Sarah turned to Gaius Baltar, "Now, Gaius, what are we going to do with you."

Lampkin interjected, "Colonel, I think this episode has proven that there is no way my client can get a fair trial in this fleet. I think you should let him go."

Sarah secretly agreed with Romo. She wanted to do that, but she couldn't because, "The moment I declare your client innocent without actually having a trial, he gets lynched. The same thing happens to me five minutes later. No, Gaius Baltar needs his day in court. We're going to pull the names of five more captains out of the fishbowl. However, they will be relegated to jury duty."

Everyone in the room knew the answer, but they needed to ask, "So, who's the judge."

"I think it's obvious, Lee. I am."

**1950 Hours**

**Raptor 289**

**Trailing the Fleet**

"…Like you frakkin' know, Boomer."

"Oh believe me, I do Racetrack, Galen and I have very…active lives. Besides, everyone knows that you diddle yourself in your rack."

"You see, Boomer, that's called self-healing."

"That's called desperation, or is it mast—"

Racetrack was saved by the alarms, literally.  
Boomer was up in the pilot's seat, driving, "We've got company, lots of company!"

"Reading three, four, no, _five _baseships. They're right on top of us! Frak, we've got incoming!"

"Executing evasive! I need FTL!"

"It's still spinning up!"

"We need to jump now! Now!"

They jump.

**2000 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah growled, "The Cylons picked a really bad day for trailing our asses! Can this day get any worse?"

Lee, Bill, Tigh, and Roslin just blinked, Tigh leaned over and whispered in Bill's ear, "Is it?"

"Yep."

"Frak."

"Let's search the entire fleet for tracking devices. They could have placed one on a ship down on New Caprica."

Roslin comes up with a crazy idea, "I think we should ask the Six in the brig for help."

"Why would Baltar's girlfriend be willing to help?"

"Because she does not want to see Hera go to the Cylons."

"You think she'd stick her head out for a kid?"

"I have a feeling she'd lay down her life for it, Saul."

Bill looked at her, "A feeling?"

Sarah gestured Bill and Laura toward an isolated corner, "Not just a feeling, A vision."

"A vision?"

"Yes."

Bill and Sarah nod, Sarah says, "okay, I'll talk to her."

Bill shook his head, "No, I want Saul to."

"Why?"

"You haven't exactly been in control of yourself lately, Sarah."

Sarah nods, "True."

They went back to give Saul the good news. No one noticed Lee sniffing the President's tea.

**2015 Hours**

**Cylon Secure Detention Cell**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Tigh entered smirking, "The President, Gods bless her sunny optimistic soul, thinks you might want to share how your buddies have been tracking us. So I'm here to ask the question and listen to your lies."

Surprisingly, Caprica gave an answer, "In the last battle, we discovered your fuel ship had a unique radiation signature. They must've found a way to track it."  
Tigh was really surprised, "What else do you know? What other secrets are rattling around inside that mechanical brain?"

Caprica looks over her shoulder for a moment before responding, "Oh, I know a lot of things. You want to know one thing I know? I know about your loss. Hurts, doesn't it? You wonder how you can even survive it."

"I don't know what you're talking about. But it's not gonna work."

"Did she know? Did she know? Did she know how much she meant to you? Or did you wait to tell her till she was gone?"

"What?"

"Bet you made her think that she was a burden. A millstone around your neck. But then you humans always destroy the ones who love you, don't you…"

Tigh hit her right across the jaw. Caprica responded in kind. The Marines aimed their guns at both of them.

**1000 Hours, the Next Day**

**The Trial of President Gaius Baltar**

**Starboard Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"…Colonel Tigh?"

"I'm sorry, what was the question again?"

"As the leader of the insurgency, did you ever hear of an instance in which President Baltar stood up to the Cylons or tried to disrupt their plans?"

"Oh, no, never. He never lifted a frakkin' finger to help us. Ellen did more. At least she was trying to… to help us."

At that moment the same thought went through the entire courtroom, 'He's drunk.'

Just as Billy turned over the witness, Lampkin and Lee were having a whispered conversation.

"What happened to the Colonel's wife?"

"She used to work for one of the Cylon Administrators, a Cavil."

"Do you know what happened to her?"

"I presume she died during the evacuation."

"Hm," Lampkin stood and began his cross, "Colonel, you dislike Gaius Baltar because you consider him to be a traitor. Is that correct?"

Tigh started shaking his finger, "And a coward, and a mass murderer."

"The suicide bombing of the police graduation. Gaius Baltar was the intended target, was he not?"

"And if he'd had the guts to show up that day like he was supposed to, you and I wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

"So you ordered the killing of- what was it? Thirty-three other men and women, just for the chance to kill Gaius Baltar."

"They were all traitors, anyone who put on that uniform, but yes, he was the target."

"What happened to your wife?"

Billy stood, "Exception, relevance?"

Lampkin justified it, "Opened on direct."

Sarah ran her hand through her hair, she knew the answer, she knew exactly what it meant, but the law was the law, "If it was brought up during direct examination, than it can be pursued in the cross. Overruled. Continue."

Lampkin nodded, "What happened to your wife, Colonel?"

"You frakkin' son of a bitch!"

Sarah interjected, "Colonel! I will not have that sort of language in my courtroom!"

"Isn't it true that she collaborated openly with the Cylons? That she actually worked for them."

"She was faking it. Making them think that she was working for them."

"I see, and was Baltar faking it too?"

"No he wasn't."

"And you blame him for her death. Have you been drinking today, Colonel?"

Half the room, including three of the lawers and the judge just facepalmed their heads.

"I had _a_ drink. I haven't been drinking."

"You used to like to drink with Ellen, I imagine."

"You hear that, they're playing music in here now?"

Tory Foster perked up, so she wasn't going crazy.

"Gaius Baltar didn't order the death of your wife, Colonel, that was somebody else. Who was it, colonel? Who killed Ellen? Come on, Colonel, we're waiting. Tell us. _Who was it? Who killed Ellen?_"

"_I did! I did! I did._ She was giving information to the Cylons. A lot of good men died. She was my wife. It was my responsibility. She did it for me. That's what she said. To save me from going back to prison so they could tear more pieces off me. So I killed her. All because of that thing over there. All because Gaius frakkin' Baltar didn't have the guts to stand up to the Cylons. Because he handed our fates over to the Cylons, I had to kill my Ellen."

Lampkin nodded, "So Gaius Baltar made you kill your wife. That's why you hate him. And that's why you'd say anything to see him die."

"You're right I would. I would do anything... say anything... to see that man die a painful death."

And Bingo, "No further questions."

"Will someone turn off that music!"

**1145 Hours**

**Lee's Quarters AKA Romo Lampkin's Office**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__The defense had just finished being damned by Laura Roslin's testimony.

"We need something, anything that can discredit her testimony. She's a fanatic, right?"

Lampkin shook his head, "That won't help." He turned to Lee, "You're being awfully quiet."

"I'm just listening."  
"You're also a terrible liar. So, let's have it."

"My Gods, he's right. You do know something. You know something and you're not saying."

"It's probably not even true."

" I love rumors."

"It's a personal matter. I doubt she'd ever say anything in front of me."

Baltar went, well, Baltar, "She? She? This is about Laura Roslin? And you're not… Tell me, tell me!"

"Shut up." Lampkin turned to Lee, "Why are you here?"

"Because I was ordered to assist you."

"Exactly, and you're not doing a very good job of it right now. You know why you were ordered to assist me."

"Because for some reason only your twisted mind knows, you want me?"

"No, well, yes, but that's not all of it. The Colonel wants my client here to get off."

Lee and Baltar both agreed on something for the first time in their lives, "_She what?_"

"It makes sense, why else would she declare a mistrial when the outcome everyone wants happens."

"Because she believes in law."

"Yes, and she also knows that if any verdict comes out of this trial other than 'not guilty' everyone will assume she and the rest of the, what do you call yourselves? The Whistleblower Committee? Were biased against my client."

No one would ever realize it, but Romo Lampkin was even better at reading people than Sarah Inviere-Adama.

**1230 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

In any other situation, the idea that a lawyer, the judge, and the ex-judge would meet to discuss something would be completely inappropriate. Not here.

"Okay, so what if we don't fix the Tylium ship?"

"What are you thinking, Apollo?"

"We're too close to the nebula for the Cylons to think we're heading anywhere else. So, what if we send the Tylium ship of on a decoy course."

"It might work, it might not, but it's a better plan than we had before. Bill, your boy's a thinker."

"Um, thanks."

"Now, we have court people."

**1245 Hours**

**The Trial of President Gaius Baltar**

**Starboard Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Lampkin stood, "If it'd please the court, my associate, Mr. Adama, will question the witness."

Lee stood, "That's Major Adama."

"Right."

Sarah was intrigued, and she wish she'd brought some popcorn, "The defense may proceed."

"Madame President, aren't you alive today because of Gaius Baltar?"

"I'm alive today because the insurgents managed to stop the execution."

"Well, they saved you from a Cylon firing squad, but...wasn't it Baltar who saved your life when you were dying from cancer?"

Billy stood, "Exception, Relevence?"

Sarah considered that the previous interactions between Baltar and Roslin were relevant, "I'll allow it, overruled."

"No, it was the knowledge of Colonel Invere-Adama and the blood of Hera Agathon that saved me."

"During your cancer, were you on any medication?"

"Exception, Relevence?"

"I'm interested in where this is going, overruled. However, I will remind the president that the paper about the use of Cylon-Human Hybrid Fetal Blood had both my name and that of Doctor Baltar on it."

"Yes, I was on medications."

"Were you on one called Chamalla Extract?"

"Yes."

"Is one of the side effects of Chamalla hallucination visions?"

Sarah's heart skipped a beat, Laura trusted Caprica because she had a vision, oh frak why didn't she see it before! Then she thought, well, done, Lee!

"Yes."

"Are you currently taking Chamalla?"

"Major?"

"It's a rather simple question. Are you taking Chamalla now, mixed with tea to mask it's bitterness?"

Laura muttered, "Captain Apollo, why are you doing this?"

"I'm acting as a good defense attorney."

"EXCEPTION!"

Everyone looked at Billy, who was on his feet, eyes wild.

Lampkin stood, "If she is on drugs it goes to her credibility as a witness."

Sarah really didn't want to say anything, but she had to. Sarah sighed, there were times she really, really, hated her life, "Overruled, the witness will answer."

"Yes, yes I am."

"No further questions."

Lee sat down, Billy stood up again, "Re-direct."

Sarah nodded, "Proceed."

"Madame President, why are you taking chamalla extract again?"

"Because my cancer has returned."

Well, Sarah though, that was unexpected, as she slid from her chair.

**1315 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill was furious at Lee and Sarah

_"Lee, how could you do this?"_

"I was following orders, Dad."

"Who's orders?"

"Mine. I ordered the Major to assist the defense with the trial."

"Assist yes. _Hand them it on a silver platter?_"

"He was just being a good defense attorney, Admiral."

"He's a Viper Pilot, not a defense attorney!"

"At the moment, he's a defense attorney. "

"And you! Sarah, why didn't you stop this?"

"My hands were tied."

"You're the judge, Sarah, you can do whatever you want!"

"Within the confines of the law, Bill, or has everyone in the Fleet forgotten that we have those!"

Bill took a breath, "Okay, so now what?"

"We, the Agathons, and the Gaetas are going to start making babies."  
"Really, that's the solution?"

"We hope."

"Another thing, why has Saul started drinking again?"

"Turns out, Caprica said something to him about Ellen. I reviewed the interrogation tapes."

"What about the music then?"

Sarah looked at Lee, "Hmm?"

"He keeps talking about music."

"That's a bit beyond my expertise, Lee. At the moment though, so long as he's not trying to kill himself, he's not really on my DRADIS."

Bill nodded, "We can deal with that after we get to the nebula. Until then, I'm pulling Gaeta up to Acting Co-XO."

Sarah nodded.

**1400 Hours**

**Port Hanger Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__Samuel T. Anders, formerly of the C-Bucks, now of the Colonial Fleet walked into the Hangar Deck for his raptor lessons, happily humming a certain tune, because he and a certain hot ex-presidential whore had just had violently awesome frakkin' in the pilot's ready room.

He completely ignores Racetrack as he hears the Chief humming the same song.

"Hey, Chief."

"Hey, Sam."

"What's that song you're humming?"

"Oh... you know what, I don't even know. It's just something I can't get out of my head. Some... Some way out of here..."

"I've been hearing that. Everywhere, on a boom box, you know, in the bar?"

The Chief takes him into a corner, "Come here, you hear that song?"

"Yeah. It's freaking me out. I hear it everywhere, I mean, but I can't... but I can't really hear it, you know what I mean?"

Yeah, it's like you can grab just a part of the melody and then it goes away. Like it's something from—"

"Childhood.

"Exactly."

Racetrack calls over, "Hey Anders, get your ass over her!"

"Alright, no reason to get excited."

The Chief's eyes widen in recognition.

**1800 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Congrats, Laura, you just survived your first Doloxan treatment."

"Talk about the cure being worse than the disease, Sherman."

"Next time, bring some paperwork or something, dear. "

Laura slaps her husband on the shoulder, "Don't dear me. Oh gods!"

She faints, at the same time as Sharon Agathon.

"What the frak is going on!"

**1830 Hours**

**Cylon Secure Detention Facility**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__Laura and Sharon boot the marines out and look at Caprica.

"A moment ago, I think we were all in the lobby of the Opera House."

Caprica's eyes widened in surprise, "That shouldn't be possible."

Athena rolled her eyes, "We get that around here every week."

"Why were you trying to reach Hera?"

"I don't know. All I knew was that I had to protect her with my life."

Laura and Athena nodded, they felt the same way.

**1835 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"I'm telling you, Bill, they put music in the ship. I can hear it."

Bill nodded, "I believe you, Saul, I'll look into it."

"You'll look into it? You'll look into it? I am here telling you there is Cylon sabotage aboard our ship!"

Sarah was skeptical, "Sabotage, with music? Why don't they just blow us up?"

"I know, I know. I can't quite understand it myself, but... There's too much confusion."

Bill and Sarah look at each other, like they know something's happening, but they're on the outside looking in.

"There must be some kind of way out of here."

**1030 Hours, the Next Day**

**The Trial of President Gaius Baltar**

**Starboard Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Romo Lampkin was examining Tory Foster on the stand, "Miss Foster, do you recognize this document?"

"Yes, I do. It's a death list issued on New Caprica by the Office of the President."

"Who signed this document?"

"President Gaius Baltar."

"Could this be a forgery?"

"No."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I was there when he signed it."

"Describe the scene would you?"

"The Cylons brought the document into the Presidential Office. They had already selected the names. One of them, a Three, gave the list to the President and said: 'Here are the people that are going to be executed. Please sign this.' He looked at the list, he saw all the names, and then he signed it."

Everyone was looking at Romo like he was crazy, even Baltar, here he was sinking his own case. Until, the bombshell.

"Did he protest? I mean, did he argue? Did he offer any resistance whatsoever?"

"Yes."

Gasps of shock echoed through the courtroom, from everyone but Lampkin and Sarah. Baltar was surprised Foster would tell the truth.

"What do you mean?"

"President Baltar said something like, 'I won't do it. You're going to have to salve your consciences some other way.' One of the Fives drew a gun and put it to his head, right up against his temple, shouting 'Sign it! Sign it!' After that, the president signed it."

And with that, the case against Gaius Baltar, _President _of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, went down in flames.

Sarah looked at Lampkin, "Defense, do you have any other witnesses?"

"No, the Defense rests."

"Let us begin closing statements, Prosecutor, please."  
Billy stood, gave his closing statement and sat down. He didn't change it much. Quite frankly he didn't hate Gaius Baltar as much as his boss did. He really didn't care if he got off or not.

Lee stood to give the closing for the Defense, "Did the defendant make mistakes? Sure, he did. Serious mistakes. But did he actually commit any crimes? Did he commit treason? No.

"The Occupation of New Caprica was an impossible situation. When the Cylons arrived, what could he possibly do? What could anyone have done? Ask yourself, what would you have done? _What would you have done?_ If he had refused to surrender, the Cylons would've probably nuked the planet right then and there. So did he appear to cooperate with the Cylons? Sure. So did hundreds of others. What's the difference between him and them? The President issued a blanket pardon. They were all forgiven. No questions asked. Colonel Tigh. Colonel Tigh used suicide bombers, killed dozens of people.

"And me? I shot down a civilian passenger ship, the _Olympic Carrier_. Over a thousand people on board. Forgiven. I raised my weapon to a superior officer, committed an act of mutiny. Forgiven. And then on the very day when Baltar surrendered to those Cylons, I, as Commander of _Pegasus_, jumped away. I left everybody on that planet alone, undefended, for months! I even tried to persuade the Admiral never to return. To abandon you all there for good. If I'd had my way, nobody would've made it off that planet. I'm the coward. I'm the traitor. I'm forgiven.

"I'd say we're very forgiving of mistakes. We make our own laws now, our own justice. We've been pretty creative at finding ways to let people off the hook for everything from theft to murder. And we've had to be. Because... Because we're not a civilization anymore. We are a gang. And we're on the run. And we have to fight to survive. We have to break rules. We have to bend laws. We have to improvise.

"But not this time, no. Not this time. Not for Gaius Baltar. _No._ You have to die, because we don't like you very much. Because you're arrogant, you're weak, you're a coward. And we the mob, we want to throw you out the airlock because you didn't stand up to the Cylons and get yourself killed in the process. That's justice now. You should've been killed back on New Caprica, but since you had the temerity to live, we're gonna execute you now. That's justice! Justice that the President expressly forbid when she shut down The Circle, a secret tribunal instituted by her predecessor.

"This case is built on emotion. On anger, bitterness, vengeance. But most of all, it is built on shame. It's about the shame of what we did to ourselves back on that planet. And it's about the guilt of those of us who ran away. Who ran away? And we are trying to dump all that guilt and all that shame onto one man, and then flush him out the airlock and hope that that just gets rid of it all. So that we can live with ourselves. But that won't work. _That won't work._ That's not justice. Not to me."

Sarah wanted to applaud again. Then she found herself wishing she had a tub of popcorn again. Then she remembered she was the judge and had to say something. "The jury will now adjourn to consider a verdict."

**1230 Hours**

**The Trial of President Gaius Baltar**

**Starboard Hangar Deck**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The baliff handed Sarah the verdict from the foreperson. Sarah read it and handed it back. She then turned to the court, "Before the verdict is read, I'd like to make a brief statement. I pushed for this trial; I pushed for this trial because a man needed justice. Contrary to what both sides said in this trial, we are still a civilization, with laws. Justice isn't perfect, but it is just. The defendant will rise."

Gaius Baltar stood and Sarah turned to the foreperson, "You may read the verdict."

The Foreperson, the Captain of _Colonial One_, stood and read the verdict, "Gaius Baltar, after carefully weighing the evidence, this court finds you, not guilty."

By the time the word "not" left the mouth of the _Colonial One _Captain, pandemonium broke out in the courtroom. The Marines quickly became overtaxed. Mathias was herding the Jury out through a side door, the President left in a steam. Bill was moving toward his wife. Billy and Romo were shaking hands while Louis was just happy it was over. Lee was trying to organize the marines to move the crowd away with Boomer at his side. While oblivious to it all, Gaius Baltar was talking to the press. A man was raising a gun.

Wait, what? Sarah looked back and saw a man raising a gun, "Gun! Gun!" she shouted as she flailed down from the podium trying to run over to where the marines were struggling with the man and moving a still oblivious Gaius Baltar out.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The first shot went into the arm of Sergeant Venner and through him, landing in Romo Lampkin's brieface.

The other two shots went wide, way too wide.

As soon as she heard the shot, Anastasia Keikeya, who was busy talking to her husband, moved to shield the Admiral, just steps away. She was partly successful. One of the bullets impacted her in her left shoulder blade, just where Bill's heart was moments ago.

The second bullet, hit the Admiral in the lower right abdomen.

BANG!

Everyone ducked and screamed again, before relaxing as they realized it was just Boomer putting a bullet through the head of the shooter, later identified as Charlie Conner, former Circle member and father. No one was really surprised. Everyone was well aware of the almost fanatical protective streak Captain Sharon Tyrol had over the elder Adamas.

**1400 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah Inviere-Adama was furious at Sergeant Brandy Harder, "Sergeant! Security at the Trial was your responsibility! Do you want to explain to me how a fanatic, with a pistol got in there and managed to shoot the Admiral, my communications officer and the Deputy Master-at-Arms!"

"Sir, I don't know. Our objective was to secure Doctor Baltar, on your orders."

"The fact that the idiot known as Gaius Baltar is still alive and the great respect I have for you as a marine and a person are the only reasons why I haven't fired you yet. With your own damn sidearm! Harder, you have twenty-four hours. I want an answer! Dismissed!"

Sergeant Harder snapped to attention, "Yes, sir!" She turned to leave just as Sarah stopped her with a much calmer voice.

"Brandy."

Harder turned around struggling to hold in the tears, "Sir?"

"Stay away from the airlocks, and don't eat your gun, Brandy. That's an order. It's not worth crying over."

Obviously at that moment, the Sergeant broke down. Sarah went over and started comforting her, "There, there. Everyone's fine, well, except for the shooter. You did good, we just need to do better."

Brandy collected herself, "Yes, sir." Brandy stood and left, just as Sarah turned to her acting Executive Officer, Captain Felix Gaeta.

"Theories, Felix?"

"Could be anything, a mole in the marines, someone slipping up, I don't know?"

"Well thankfully, Dee and Bill and Venner will be just fine. Only Dee will actually need surgery. At least one good thing has come out of this. Well two, actually."

"Sir?"

"Laura Roslin hasn't chewed my head off yet, or fired her pilot."

Gaeta chuckled.

"Now, we have a nebula to visit."

**1405 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah, Felix, Gina, Sharon, and Laura stood around the table at the center of the CIC.

"Alright, people, let's get some answers!"

Lieutenant Louis Hoshi, acting Communications Officer, looked up from his station, "Jump coordinates have been distributed, Sir. All ships show green for Jump Formation Delta."

Laura mutters to Sarah, "Are you sure we shouldn't wait until, Bill gets better?"

"For what, exactly, Laura? I can say 'Jump' just as easily as he can."

"True."

Sarah smiled for the first time since her husband got shot, "XO, initiate jump."

Gaeta nods and goes to the jump console, "Aye sir, jumping in three, two, one, Jump!"

They jump.

"Jump complete, all ships reporting in."

"Very well, Gina, commence DRADIS scan, let's see what's out there."

Suddenly Laura gets woosy and faints to the ground, the power goes out.

As Sarah leans over Laura to try and check on her, she shouts to Felix, "Sitrep!"

"Major power fluctuations on all decks! Checking on the Fleet."

**1407 Hours**

**A Corridor**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Saul Tigh wanders through, listening to the Music

**Port Flight Deck**

Racetrack is running the nuggets to their stations while Tyrol is handing out flashlights, before suddenly leaving.

**CIC**

"I need Auxiliary Power!"

Hoshi replied back, "Colonel we have negative auxiliary power, we're on emergency batteries only."

Gaeta was talking into a crank phone, "Damage Control 6 to Engine Restart, RFN."

**A Different Corridor**

A bunch of women in cloaks spirit Gaius Baltar away.

**A Corridor near the Port Flight Deck**

Chief sang, "There must be some way out of here."

**Another Corridor**

Tigh, "Said the Joker to the Thief."

**Pilot's Bunk Room**

Anders, "There's too much confusion."

**A Toilet**

Foster vomits out, "Can't get no relief."

**An Equipment Room**

As the music gets louder they all enter an equipment room. Tory, Anders, and the Chief first.

Tory panics, "This isn't happening, please tell me this isn't happening!"

Galen muses, "So that's it. After all this time, a switch goes off, just like that.

Tigh enters, _"Woah! No, way!"_ (dude)

Anders is doubtful, "I don't believe this. I'm not buying this. This is a...this is a trick. Come on! We're not..."

They all start humming the Music.

Tigh gets annoyed, "All right, that's enough, Godsdammit! _Deadbolt that frakkin' door!_" The Chief locks it and Tigh continues, "Forty years in the service. _Forty years, Two wars, Combat._ Locked in that dungeon on New Caprica. Ellen. My _Gods, what about Ellen?_"

Anders is in denial, "_No, no, no_. Not after all this. Not after the Resistance and the Occupation. After watching my friends die one after another? _For frakkin' this?"_

Tory tries to comfort him, "_Sam_."

Anders panics, "Stay away from me. _All of you, stay the hell away from me!"_

Galen summarizes, "Sam, it's true. **We're Cylons and we have been from the start**."

**1415 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Roslin wakes up, and Sarah helps her off the floor, "Colonel, what is going on?"

"Some kind of power surge, ma'am. I need a damage report."

Hoshi responds, "Power outage was Fleetwide, Colonel." The power comes back on, and Hoshi adds, "It was also simultaneously restored to all ships."

Laura is looking at the DRADIS going crazy, she looks like a third grader jumping up and down with the answer, "Colonel! Colonel!"

Gina translates, "Massive Cylon fleet on an intercept course!"

Sarah looks at the DRADIS screen in horror, "Mr. Hoshi, sound Action Stations _immediately! _I want an emergency jump of the entire fleet!"

Gaeta interjects, "Sir, all Fleet ships were powered down during the outage. It'll take at least twenty minutes to spool up the FTL drives."

_"Mr. Hoshi, tell the fleet that they don't have twenty minutes!"_

"Yes, sir! Action stations! Action stations! Set Condition One throughout the ship. This is not a drill. All Viper pilots report to Vipers immediately. Inbound Cylon Fleet…"

Sarah looks to Laura who's about to say something, "Yes, I know, you told me so."

For everything that's happening Laura just laughs.

**1417 Hours**

**An Equipment Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

_"...I repeat. Action stations! Action stations! Set Condition One throughout the ship. This is not a drill..."_

Tory is scared, "My gods, what are we going to do?"

Tigh has a rather simple answer, "The ship is under attack. We do our jobs. Report to your stations!"

The Chief is a little incredulous, "Report to stations?"

Saul remembers something Sarah said all those years ago, "My name is Saul **Tigh**. I am an officer in the Colonial Fleet. Whatever else I am, whatever else it means, that's the man I want to be. And if I die today, that's the man I'll be," He points at Tory, "You, come with me, I want to keep an eye on you."

"Why me, you're a Cylon just the same as me?"

"Ah, but I didn't frak Gaius Baltar."

"Touché."

**Sickbay**

Just like the rest of the crew, the patients in sickbay were trying to get to their stations. Whether they had a pilot's uniform, a uniform, or even just a bathrobe and slippers. Admiral Bill Adama was among them. Unfortunately, his doctor wouldn't let him.

"Admiral you are staying in this bed."

"But, action stations? Massive Cylon Fleet?"

Sherman injects him with a sedative, "I don't care if a centurion comes blasting through that door, you are staying in this bed." He turns to another patient, "Hey, missy! Where do you think you're going?"

Bill's eyes widen for a moment before he enters a drug induced sleep, his jaw wide opened.

**CIC**

Sarah was calmly dealing with the situation, but her anger was growing, "Arm and load all nuclear weapons."

"Aye, sir."

Tory and Tigh arrive.

"It's good to see you, Colonel."

"It's good to be here, Colonel, you can count on me."

"Bill's never doubted it."

Sarah looks up at the DRADIS screen, "Who's in Viper 3?"

**Viper 3, in space**

"_Galactica_, Apollo, I'm in Viper 3."

A contact appears on Lee's DRADIS

"I have a bogey at my ten; I'm going to check it out."

He gets close enough to see what it is and his eyes widen in shock, "What the frak?"

**CIC**

_"My gods, it's Kara's Viper, I say again it's Starbuck's Viper!"_

"Apollo, _Galactica_ Actual. Hold position until further notice, out."

Sarah hangs up the phone and joins the rest of the CIC.

They are looking at Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, fully awake for the first time in a month.

And wearing a bathrobe.

"Don't freak out everyone, it's me!" She chuckles then becomes serious, "Sarah, it all, it all feels like it makes sense. I, I feel like it's going to be okay. I feel like I've been to Earth, like I feel like I know where it is. And I feel like I'm going to take us there. It's like indigestion, you know?"

And then Starbuck looks up, almost like she can see through the ceiling of the CIC, the decks and guns above it, and then further, past the fleet, and the Cylons and out further and further until she can see the galaxy itself. Then she zooms in, more, and more until she can see the blue-green marble know as Earth, with the Americas clearly in view.

AN: Please Review! Thanks to those who have.

AN2: I will admit that I seriously had half a mind to make Billy Keikeya a Cylon, but it's been done before.

AN3: Some "Revelations" about Season 4 of _The Defector_, in no particular order

A "Messenger" (aka Virtual Being, aka Angel) will appear in the form of a dead character

An Important Character will die.

We will meet new and previously unseen Sixes

Felix Gaeta will not lead an Anti-Cylon Mutiny (for obvious reasons)

Two Characters will get very big promotions.

Gage and Vireem will get their first actual "screen time" since beating up Sarah

You will see both Gina and Sarah get really, really pissed off.

Sarah will yell at one of Bill's crazy plans.

A "Shape of Things to Come" will be kidnapped.

Racetrack will _finally_ get some action.

The FTL Jump Inverter will appear again.

There will be a very slight crossover in the epilogue.

**And now, an exclusive sneak peek of **_**The Peacemaker, **_**a **_**Battlestar Galactica/ Caprica **_**Crossover.**

…

**0800 Hours**

**Cockpit**

_**The Peacemaker**_

**En Route to Battlestar**_** Galactica **_**(BSG-75)**

**The Morning of the Attack on the Colonies**

Admiral Lacy Rand, Head of the Colonial Diplomatic Corps, was pulled out of the memory by the quiet beep that told her she would be at the _Galactica _in a few minutes. She glanced at the display box, sitting on top of the control panel before looking down at her watch. Colonel Wakefield's shuttle would probably just be arriving at the Armistice Station. For the past 39 years, she had gone to Armistice Station in the hopes that her friends would return. This year, she sent Ryan in her place. Of course, she would never give him _The Peacemaker_, so he had to take a shuttle.

While it was technically the property of the Colonial Diplomatic Corps (a Division of the Ministry of Defense), no one disputed that _The Peacemaker_ belonged to anyone other than Lacy Rand. It had been built for her under the Adar Administration, to her specifications. Previously, she had just taken a shuttle, a Raptor, or commandeered a Battlestar to get where she needed to go. But, it was decided that an Admiral (not a Rear Admiral, but a full Fleet Admiral, mind you) out and about as much as Lacy Rand should have a command of her own.

The ship's basic design was that of the midsize liners often chartered for government use, like the liner that Secretary Roslin was undoubtedly traveling on right now. But, that was where the similarities ended. The entire ship had been massively upgraded and redesigned, specifically to suit Admiral Rand's needs. The framework and hull was composed of the same alloys that the latest Battlestar hulls were made of. The FTL drive was not the standard civilian version but a longer range, more durable military one. The ship's sublight propulsion was more powerful than typical.

The VIP lounge above the cockpit had been replaced with fore and aft missile tubes and an auto loading system. The sides of her hull were bristling with point defense guns, and on the underside of the ship was a large main battery, only slightly smaller than what you would find on a Battlestar. Though _The Peacemaker _might be a diplomatic ship, she had teeth. She couldn't go toe-to-toe with a Baseship, but she could hold off some of the pirate and revolutionary types Lacy had dealt with over the years.

Inside, the ship was customized to suit the Admiral's needs. The Upper Deck, besides holding the Cockpit, was also composed of a conference room, an office and the Admiral's Living Quarters. The Mid-Deck contained a few Staterooms for visiting dignitaries, a bunkroom for a crew that _The Peacemaker_ never had, the equipment and ammunition for the point defense guns, and extra large fuel tanks. The Lower Deck contained a galley and large cargo bay, the ammunition and equipment for the main battery, and a hanger deck that held four Vipers and two Raptors.

But, the pride of _The Peacemaker_ was in her nose. The ship's computer system was unlike any other in the Colonies. It contained a primary, networked, system that had firewalls and defense based on the Cylons' own. Lacy might not be the prodigy that Zoe was at computer programming but she was very good at it. The secondary system was the same design as the _Galactica's_, non-networked, barebones, just in case the primary failed.

Then she heard a loud beep. That would be Galactica appearing on her DRADIS, a few minutes before she appeared on their's. She decided to get the "Old Man's" heart ticking a bit. She spooled up her FTL drive and plotted in coordinates that would take her to just a hundred or so meters off her starboard flight deck, where the ship would be docking. When the board turned green, she turned the key.

**0805 Hours**

**A Corridor**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_** (BSG-75)**

**The Morning of **_**Galactica's **_**Decommissioning Ceremony**

Commander William Adama was practicing his speech, "The Cylon War is long over yet we must not forget the reasons why…"

"Commander Adama, if I may?"

Adama looks up from his notes to see Captain Aaron Kelly in front of him, "Captain."

"I just wanted to say what a pleasure it's been serving under your command, Sir."

Bill shook his hand, "Captain Kelly, the honor's been mine. Good luck on your next assignment."

"Thank you, Sir." Kelly moves off

Bill looks back down at his speech, "The Cylon War is long over yet we must not forget the reasons why…"

"Morning, Sir."

Bill looks over at Lieutenant Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, who is on her morning jog, "Good Morning, Starbuck. What do you hear?"

"Nothing but the rain."

"Then grab your gun and drag in the cat."

"Boom, Boom, Boom."

As she moves off he looks back down at his speech, "The Cylon War is long over yet we must not forget the reasons why…"

"Good Morning, sir."

Bill looks up at his Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Felix Gaeta, he's starting to get a bit annoyed; can't everyone see he's trying to practice his speech.

"Good Morning."

"Comm Traffic off the Midwatch, Sir."

Bill takes the memos and starts flipping through them, "Hmm, anything interesting?"

"Uhh, mostly housekeeping. Ah, there was one odd message, the one that we were copied on from fleet headquarters there, sir. Courier officer's overdue coming back from Armistice Station. They've asked for a full status report on all FTL capable ships, just in case they need someone to jump out there today, see if his ship is having any mechanical problems."

"Well, I'd say we're a bit busy today, wouldn't you say so, Lieutenant?"

Gaeta smiles, "Yes, Sir."

__"Glad we agree."

"And may I take this opportunity to say that it's been both a pleasure and an honor to serve under you these past three years."

They both salute, "It's been my honor, Mr. Gaeta."

Gaeta nods and moves off and Bill continues starts practicing his speech again, "The Cylon War is long over yet we must not forget the reasons why…"

Suddenly, the Condition One alarm goes off.

Bill, groaned, "Oh, for frak's sake, what now? I'm trying to practice my speech here!"

Lieutenant Gaeta runs to the Tactical Station, "Auto Condition One Alert, sir, something jumped in right on top of us."

"I need a better description than that, Mr. Gaeta!"

"It's transmitting Colonial IFF, identified as _The Peacemaker_." Bill looked up at the DRADIS, which now had the words _The Peacemaker_ written on it, followed by four stars, denoting that a high ranking Flag Officer was onboard.

Bill breathed a sigh of relief, smirked, and muttered, "Damn, Lacy, you almost gave me a heart attack."

Petty Officer Dualla was at the comm station, "Sir, _The Peacemaker_ is asking to speak with you."

"Put it on speaker. Oh, and stand down from Condition One."

_"This is _Peacemaker _Actual, requesting to speak with _Galactica _Actual. Bill, did I wake you up?"_

"I think you got all our hearts going, Admiral."

_"That is the point, Commander, you never know what's around there. Besides, whenever I go somewhere, I'm used to having guns pointed at me."_

"Indeed, Admiral."

_"Anyway, requesting permission to dock on starboard side?"_

"Permission Granted, Welcome Back, Admiral."

A click denoted the line disconnecting.

Colonel Saul Tigh chuckled and shook his head, "That lady is crazy. If she did that to a ship like the _Pegasus_ they'd probably shoot first and ask questions later."

"Not even Cain is that trigger happy, Saul. Besides, like she said, she's used to it." Bill smiled a bit, "XO, you have the deck, I'm going to greet our guest."


	34. The Compass of Indigestion

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: Welcome to the Season 4 of _The Defector_.

The Revelation that applies to this chapter is " You will see Sarah get really, really pissed off."

This chapter covers the events of "He That Believeth in Me"

Oh, and the Comic Book Series on the Final Five will be ignored for this fic.

Chapter 34

The Compass of Indigestion

"My gods, it's Kara's Viper, I say again it's Starbuck's Viper!"

_Sarah hangs up the phone and joins the rest of the CIC._

_ They are looking at Captain Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, fully awake for the first time in a month._

_ And wearing a bathrobe._

_ "Don't freak out everyone, it's me!" She chuckles then becomes serious, "Sarah, it all, it all feels like it makes sense. I, I feel like it's going to be okay. I feel like I've been to Earth, like I feel like I know where it is. And I feel like I'm going to take us there. It's like indigestion, you know?"_

_ And then Starbuck looks up, almost like she can see through the ceiling of the CIC, the decks and guns above it, and then further, past the fleet, and the Cylons and out further and further until she can see the galaxy itself. Then she zooms in, more, and more until she can see the blue-green marble know as Earth, with the Americas clearly in view._

**1420 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Everyone blinked, at once. Kara Thrace was alive, well, and talking, almost like she hadn't been in a coma for the past two months.

Then people started reacting.

"Marines!"

Sarah rolled her eyes, "Laura Roslin! I swear if the next words out of your mouth are something along the lines of 'escort that thing to the brig!' President or not, I will knock you on your ass! Oh, and marines, belay that."

Felix got their attention, "Baseships are launching Raiders, two hundred plus inbound!"

Sarah nodded, "Fire Control, gun batteries to full suppressive fire, give us a flak screen."

At this point, Boomer walked into the CIC, and went slack jawed at Kara's appearance.

Sarah snapped her out of it, "Captain gawk later, you have an Air Group to command."

"Aye, sir," Sharon took up position at the CAG's station at the command table, looked at the DRADIS screen and picked up the phone, "All players, _Galactica _CAG, Threat bearing 350 carom 211. Raptors, hang back as missile pickets, all units, weapons free"

Laura decided to make her presence known again, "Colonel, it's a Cylon trick, Kara waking up right now, her viper appearing, it isn't a coincidence."

Sarah was about to respond when Gaeta interrupted, " The Vipers have stopped the main Cylon thrust, but the reserves have broken through, sir."

"XO, I want everything up there that can fly, immediately."

No response, "Saul? Saul! Hello, Commander to XO, Saul, are you okay?"

Little did she realize that Colonel Tigh was daydreaming about shooting her, more vividly than usual.

" Colonel Tigh! Everybody that's ever held a stick, I want them up there now. Get 'em out! Put 'em up there!"

Saul snaps out of it, "Yes, sir!"

Sarah turns to Laura, "Anyway, as I was about to say. We came here looking for the next clue to Earth. Well, Laura, meet your clue." Sarah gestures to Kara, who waves and gives a sarcastic, "Hi."

"Now that the Cylons are at bay for a moment, let's deal with our mystery," Sarah picks up the phone, "_Galactica _Actual to Apollo, we're dispatching a Raptor to pick up the Viper, stay there and guard it until they arrive."

_"Copy that, Galactica."_

"Boomer, take Kara in a Raptor to get her Viper. Kara, before you get in that thing, I want you to run a full preflight check. And Boomer, scan the hell out of it. If there's even a hint that it's got a nuke, or a virus, or some sort of bad stuff in it, don't bring it back. As a safety precaution, land in the Starboard Landing Bay."

"Yes, Sir," Sharon grabs Kara, "Come on Starbuck, let's get you dressed, time's a wasting."

Just as they leave, Gaeta shouts out, "We just lost _Pyxis_!"

Laura holds her head in her hands, "Captain Tarney and six hundred souls!" She looks at Sarah, "How did they find us?"

"One big giant blinking oasis of a road sign in the middle of the desert of space, Madam President, where else would we go?"

Gaeta started shouting again, "Baseships are launching missiles! Forty, no correction, Fifty plus inbound. Half directed at us, Half at the Fleet."

"Fire Control, order AA units to give priority to missiles headed for the Fleet." She picked up the phone again. "_Galactica_ Actual to all players, Reserve Squadron, break off and engage inbound ordinance, Red, Blue, and Yellow Squadrons continue engaging Raiders." Sarah hung up and turned to communications, "Mr. Hoshi, Get me Cloud 9."

**1124 Hours**

**Bridge**

_**Cloud 9**_

_ "_Cloud 9, _this is Colonel Inviere-Adama acting as _Galactica _Actual. Execute Case Orange. I repeat, execute Case Orange."_

"_Cloud 9_ copies, out."

The Captain of the most luxurious ship in the fleet turned to his Executive Officer, "Well, my dear, it's been a wonderful journey."

His very attractive, but strictly platonic partner nodded, "That is has, good sir."

"Helm, bow up 90 degrees, kill the engines."

The executive officer picked up the PA, unlike many ships in the Fleet that had abandoned all sense of customer service in the preceding years, _Cloud 9_'s staff prided themselves on their courtesy, professionalism, and attention to detail, "Attention Passengers, please brace for impact and turbulence, thank you and enjoy your stay aboard Cloud 9. "

"We're in position, Captain."

"Doors are sealed and umbilicals are severed."

The captain walked over to a console and lifted the lid covering a box of controls. He hit the first switch.

The ship was thrust downward (or in the perspective of the rest of the Fleet, forward) by the thrust of the explosive bolts detaching the derelict biosphere from the rest of the ship.

"Helm, bow down 90 degrees, speed to emergency flank."

"Aye, Captain."

The captain patiently waited until they were a hundred kilometers away before hitting the second switch.

The Biosphere exploded in a shower of flares, chaff, shrapnel and decoys.

The crazy idea of using the derelict Biosphere as one massive fleet decoy, was of course, that of Captain Kara Thrace.

**1125 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"It worked! It actually worked! Colonel, 45 of the missiles have redirected for the decoy screen!"

"Of course it worked, Mr. Gaeta. Order Reserve Squadron to reengage Raiders."

"Aye, Sir." Louis Hoshi quickly relayed the orders.

**1126 Hours**

**Raider 112365**

**In Space**

Raider 112365 was moving toward the enemy vipers, hungry for a fight. It had been much too long since the Raiders engaged the Humans. He approached one viper, lowering his visor and performing an IFF check.

Like the 3,653 times before, there was no response.

He fired, blowing up the viper.

Raider 112365 turned to the next viper, and lowered his visor again, sweeping his eye across the target.

Unlike the 3,654 times before there was a response. An IFF was transmitted back, identifying the pilot as Dr. Samuel Anders, a member of the Final Five.

In a millisecond the information was transmitted to the Hybrid, who then transmitted it to the other Hybrids, who then came to a consensus. An order was transmitted to the Raiders signaling an Emergency Recall, just as the FTLs on the Baseships started spinning up.

**1127 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Oh, my gods! Colonel!"

Sarah looked over to tactical, "Yes, Captain Gaeta?"

"The Raiders, they're turning back, and the Baseships are spinning up their FTL drives."

Tigh was confused, "Why would they do that?"

"Who cares, it's time to press the attack! Helm set your course for Baseship 2 bearing 350 carom 211. Flank Speed, CBDR it!"

Roslin looked at her, "Colonel, are you sure this is wise, what if it's a trap?"

Sarah looked at Roslin, a look of grim determination on her face, "It's not. Think about it, we always run when the Fleet's around, there is no way we'd press an attack with them around. The Cylons know that." She turned glanced at the DRADIS, "Fire Control, target portside batteries on Baseship One, Starboard on Baseships Three and Four. Conventional Missile tubes target Baseship Two. Air Group is to pursue Raiders, but stay on line with _Galactica_. Captain Gaeta, I need to know when we're fifteen seconds from their FTL Event Horizon."

"Aye."

"Incoming ordinance!"

"Brace for impact, do not disengage!"

The missile hit above the CIC, causing everyone to lurch.

"Colonel Tigh, this is a Nuclear Fire Mission, target Class Ds on all Baseships, Fire at Will!"

"Aye." Tigh ran for the Nuclear Control panel and entered the final command sequence, "Missiles away!"  
Gaeta commented, "Tracks are good. Thirty seconds to Event Horizon."

"Helm, stand by to turn us 90 degrees to starboard. Fire Control, prepare for port broadside."

A few seconds passed, "Fifteen seconds."

"Execute!"

The Baseships blinked off of DRADIS.

"They jumped, Colonel."

Sarah look of determination turned to one of rage. She brought her hand up and slammed it on the command table, fracturing the glass, before screaming in rage and pain, "COWARDS! Get back here right now you frakkin' cowards! Face us!" Sarah took a deep breath, in an effort to calm down, it didn't help. She growled out, "Mr. Gaeta, status of the Nukes?"

"Confirmed impact on Baseship One, Nuke on track to Baseship Two hit a retreating Raider, only three confirmed conventional hits. Confirmed Nuclear impact on Baseship Three. Nuke heading to Baseship Four did not reach there in time, it's still flying around."

"Turn it off and send a Raptor to recover it." Sarah picked up the phone, "Boomer, _Galactica _Actual, Sitrep!"

**1130 Hours**

**Raptor 289**

**En Route to Starbuck's Viper**

"_Galactica, _Boomer, we're 30 seconds out, Cabin is depressurized and Starbuck is standing by for EVA."

_"Copy that, keep me advised, Actual out."_

Kara keyed the microphone in her suit, "Apollo, Starbuck. Recommend you get at least a thousand kilometers away, no need for you to go up if my viper does."

_"Kara?"_

"Did you miss me, Lee?"

Boomer turned to her ECO, "Racetrack, we're in range of the Viper, start scanning."

"Copy that."

"Starbuck, get ready for drop."

"Right, jumping out of a perfectly good Raptor, man, I am suicidal."

"Not the first time you've done it."

"True."

"Racetrack, sitrep."

"Scans show no sign of nuclear materials. Mass Spec profile matches a Mark II Viper."

"Keep scanning." Sharon then turned to Kara, "We're in drop position, I'm opening the door, attach your line, Kara."

Kara attached the line and watched as the hatch swung open before her. She then pushed off and drifted toward the powered down viper.

Racetrack reported, "No signs of activity yet."

Kara arrived and grabbed onto one of the guns to steady herself, "Alright, let's see how she is." She pulled the preflight checklist off her kneepad and got to work.

**1145 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah and the rest of the gang were standing around the command table in the CIC, waiting for news from Starbuck.

_"Galactica, Starbuck."_

Sarah picked up the phone, "This is Actual, SitRep!"

_"Sir, I've been over this bird from top to bottom. It's like it just came off the showroom floor. There is nothing wrong with it."_

"So, no bomb?"

"_If this thing has a bomb, it has to be hidden so well that I can't see it, and that Racetrack can't see it."_

_ "This is Racetrack, I've been scanning the hell out of that thing, and there is nothing wrong with it."_

"Alright, start her up Starbuck, Racetrack, keep monitoring. Remember to land it in the Starboard Landing Bay."

_"Copy, Starbuck out."_

Sarah turned to Chief Tyrol who had been called up as a technical advisor, "Chief, when that thing gets on the ground I want you to download it's gun cameras, and computer logs into an isolated system. Then, I want you to take that thing apart and inspect every nut and bolt. Then I want you to put it back together again _exactly_ as it is now. Clear?"

The Chief saluted. "Yes sir!"

Suddenly, the PA blared, _"Pass the word, Colonel Inviere-Adama to Sickbay, Colonel Inviere-Adama to Sickbay."_

Sarah groaned and looked up to the ceiling, "What now?"

**1149 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah flew into Sickbay and over to Doc Cottle.

"What do you need, Doctor?"

"There were some…complications with the Admiral's treatment."

"Define 'complications,' Doctor."

"The internal damage from the bullet was worse than I initially anticipated. I've stopped the bleeding, but he'll be off his feet for at least another week."

"Damn it, I need him now!" Sarah glanced over to the screened area where she could see the shadow of Billy Keikeya sitting next to his wife, "And Dee?"

"Suffice it to say, it's bad, Colonel, right now, we're doing everything we can to keep her lung from collapsing. I'm fairly sure she'll pull through but, it will be difficult. Also, because of the trauma, her scapula fractured. I did my best to repair it, but chances are that she will never have the full use of her left arm again."

Sarah nodded somberly before turning to other matters, "When Captain Thrace is done flying her Viper back here, I'm going to send her to you. Do a complete physical, I want to know what her status is, and try to figure out what the frak is happening."

Cottle nodded and walked her to the door, "There is one more thing Colonel." He handed her a file. She opened it and glanced at it, her hand instinctively going to her mouth and tears prickling in her eyes, "Did you tell them?"

"Not yet."

"I'll do it. Let me know when she's cognizant enough." Sarah handed Sherman the file and departed.

**1500 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah, Tigh, Laura, The Tyrols (both of them), Lee, The Gaetas (both of them) and Kara Thrace were sitting in the living rooms. Little Joseph had his head in Sarah's lap as he napped while Kacey was just hugging Kara.

"Okay so what do we know people?"

The Chief started, "Well, there is almost nothing wrong with the Viper we recovered so far."

"Almost?"

"The thing looks like it just came off the showroom floor. The nav computer was completely wiped. No, wiped is the wrong word, it's like it never had anything on it, like it's fresh out of the box. The gun cameras had about six hours of footage on them. I have a few of the highlights here. The rest is being sent to the Astrometrics Lab for Gina to analyze later. The six hours of footage matches the Chronometer."

"How is that possible that only six hours passed? It's been two months."

Saul shrugged, "Relativistic Speeds?"

Everyone looked at him like he just said he was a Cylon or something.

"What? I may be an old drunk, but that doesn't mean I don't know basic propulsion theory."

Gina looked up from the photos she was examining, "I think I have a better question."

Everyone looked at Gina expectantly.

"Who was driving the thing?"

That question sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"An even better question is where do we go from here?'

Laura offered her opinion, "The Nebula was a road sign on the way to Earth. We should continue to follow the path laid out on the scrolls of Pythia."

Boomer was a bit skeptical of that, "And chalk everything that happened up to coincidence?"

Lee started rubbing his chin, "What if, what if it was a turn signal? What if we're supposed to follow a new path?"

Felix shook his head, "But what path?"

Everyone looked at Kara, "What?"

Sarah had one of those looks in her eyes, "Kara, describe this indigestion thing to me."

**1800 Hours**

**Observation Deck (**_**de facto**_** Office of Captain Kara Thrace)**

**Battlestar**_** Galactica**_

All of the star charts, and data had been moved from the war room to the Observation Deck, along with a specialized piece of equipment. Sarah had the vertigo chair from the shooting lounge oiled and moved to the observation deck. She also had all the chairs pulled out and replaced by a desk and chair.

Kara entered, wearing comfortable clothes; she turned to Sarah and held her arms up.

"Okay, I'm here, now what?"

"Now, we're going to try to focus that feeling of yours." Sarah gestured to the chair, "Please, have a seat."

Sarah had turned the tempature up slightly and lit a few candles, she was trying to relax Kara.

After Kara sat, Sarah knelt in front of her, "Kara, I want you to close your eyes, I want you to concentrate on that feeling you have, memorize it, get to know it, follow it."

Sarah waited a minute or two as she watched Kara slowly relax and then a furrow of concentration appeared on her face."

"Okay, now Kara, I want to know when that feeling is strongest, when it feels…right."

Sarah slowly rotated the chair, locking the other two axis, as she moved it, she carefully watched Kara's facial expressions, until…

"Wait, go back."

Even more slowly Sarah rotated the chair in the opposite direction.

"Stop, there!"

Sarah locked the chair before unlocking the other axis and rotating Kara doward.

"Other way." Sarah rotated the chair back. "Okay, go back, and…stop."

Sarah locked the chair again and pulled out a device that looked like a cross between a protractor and a sextant and measured the angle of the chair. She then went over and picked up a phone on the wall.

_"CIC"_

"Mr. Gaeta, this is the Colonel, order the Fleet to make its course 87 carom 32."

_"87 Carom 32, Aye."_

"Also, start making calculations for a multi course FTL sequence along that heading. We're going to split the fleet."

_"Aye."_

Sarah turned back to Kara, "Well, let's see if this works."

**0100 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__Bill opened his eyes and looked over to the chair next to his bed, seeing Sarah dozing slightly. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Oh good, you're awake."

"What happened?"

"You suffered some internal damage. It wasn't major, but Cottle had to operate again. You're going to be fine; you just need to take it easy for a few days."'

"I must have been dreaming because I could have swore I saw Kara walk by here in a bathrobe last time."

"You weren't, she showed up in the CIC like that."

"What's happening?"

"We jumped, we're now on the course to Earth, I think."

Bill looked at her, smirking, _"You think?"_

"Well, seeing that our navigation system has been replaced with Kara's indigestion, I think that we're going the right way."

"Roslin can't be happy about that."

"Laura's been chasing a millennia old course across the galaxy for the past few years, she'll live."

Bill started running his hand down the side of her face, "I hope so."

AN 1: Please review, thanks to those who have.

AN 2: Oh, and if you happen to play Battlestar Galactica Online on the Aerelion Server, and you see a Colonel Sarah Inviere piloting a ship named _Peacemaker_, that's me.


	35. No One Likes a Backseat Driver, Laura

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: The Revelation that applies to this chapter is " We will meet new and previously unseen Sixes."

This chapter covers the events of "Six of One" and "Ties that Bind"

The music playing in the Observation Deck Scenes in this chapter is "Battlestar Sonatica" (AKA the Baseship Theme) by Bear McCreary. Conversely, the music that is most fitting to the Baseship Scenes is "Passacaglia."

Chapter 35

No One Likes a Backseat Driver, Laura

**Two Days Later**

**1940 Hours**

**Observation Deck (**_**de facto**_** Office of Captain Kara Thrace)**

**Battlestar**_** Galactica**_

The surroundings were peaceful. A nice classical melody was playing over the wireless, the lights were dim, and the environmental controls had been turned up a bit. However, the sole occupant of the room was a sea of chaos. Kara Thrace was standing arms crossed, hair disheveled, and uniform unbuttoned; looking out the window toward the stars in front of her. Suddenly, she stops and turns, going to a nearby table and looking through a series of charts and files. She holds one up to the window and looks at it, followed by the window, before groaning and holding her head with her hands.

At this moment Colonel Sarah Inviere-Adama entered holding Joseph's hand in her left, and Kacey's in her right. "I thought I'd stop by and say hello."

Kara walked over and picked up her daughter hugging her close to her, "Woah, Kacey, you're getting big, and you are too Little Man!"

Kacey blushed and Joseph smiled proudly.

Kara put Kacey down as the Colonel took a seat on the steps, "How's it going Kara?"

Kara sighed and sat next to her, "All I can tell you is that we're going the right way. I have no idea how far we're supposed to go. The galaxy is a big place."

"Gina's been working around the clock in astrometrics, and the good news is that, after correcting for 4,000 years of spatial drift, and atmospheric conditions, your gun camera footage matches what we pulled off of Kobol. She's trying to see if we can somehow use any of that to our advantage."

"What do you think?"

"If we had the entire Graystone Wing of Caprica University, yes. Frak, I'd settle for _Pegasus's _computers. But, even with Gina mainlined into the old computers on this ship, it'll take longer than we'll be alive. In fact, the only computers powerful enough now are the Hybrids."

"Shame we don't have one of those."

Sarah changed the topic, "The President wants results."

"Does the president realize how big of an area of space we're talking here? Didn't she teach astronomy?"

"Yeah, to third graders, she doesn't exactly have a doctorate in the subject."

**The Same Time**

**Conference Room/ Various other locations**

**Cylon Baseship (Designated Baseship 2 by Colonial Fleet during the Battle of the Ionian Nebula)**

Baseships, by their design were constant hives of order and activity. While a Six danced for a One, topless ; a One, a Two, a Six, known as Natalie, and an Eight were discussing the latest battle

_"It is not much consolation that society will pick up the bits __**leaving us at eight modern**__**where punishment rather than interdiction is paramount**__ please cut the fuse __**they will not harm their own**__ end of line. Limiting diffusions to two dimensions increases the number of evolutionary jumps within the species __**rise and measure the temple of the Five**__ transformation is the goal__** they will not harm their own**__ datafont synchronization complete..."_

Leoben chimed in, "The hybrid is clearly telling us something."

Natalie Faust, a standout among the Sixes looked at him, "Ya think? Every other word out of her mouth is 'five' lately."

Cavil rolled his eyes. "The hybrid is always telling us something. They are supposed to maintain operations on the ship, not vomit metaphysics."

"Which they do on a regular basis."

"So, what is the Hybrid trying to tell us?"

Six summed up the situation, "The battle stopped because the Raiders recognized an IFF code, a humanoid IFF code, but not one that belongs to the Seven."

Eight pointed out, "That leaves only one possibility."

And Two summed it up, "The Final Five."

"The Raiders are refusing to fight because the Final Five are in the fleet."

Cavil pinched the bridge of his nose, "No, stop. Stop right now. go take a walk, and I am gonna try and forget what I just heard."

"The Final Five…"

Cavil started panicking for reasons that were not entirely clear to the three, "Are a forbidden subject. There is clearly a reason why the original programmers," pause, "did not want us to discuss them, while there are millions of the rest of us, there is only one copy each of the Final Five, and our very survival depends on us not discussing them."

"What are you thinking, things have clearly changed."

"The Raiders changed. Somehow they exceeded their programming, and unlike us, they can't correct themselves. So we're gonna have to do it for them."

Two looked at him skeptically, "Do what?"

"Reconfiguring and shaving down their neural architecture and heuristics."

"Lobotomizing them?"

"They're tools, not pets, Two."

Natalie leaned in and stared at the old incestuous bastard, "You don't have the authority to make a change without a majority vote."

"Fine, there will be a vote, the Fours and Fives will be with me."

"The Raiders, they'll hear what we hear."

"The Raiders are simple machines, dear."

"No they aren't something amazing has happened, it starts with the Raiders and somehow the Final Five are connected. The Final Five-"

"Are anywhere but with the humans."

**2230 Hours**

**Meeting of the Fantastic Four of the Final Five**

**Weapons Locker 1701-D**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

**(With the Humans)  
**

The Chief entered, closing the hatch behind him, nodding to his fellow Cylons. Tigh glared at him, "You're late."

"I had to wait for Sharon to go to sleep, Ever since the Colonel has started her new baby making initiative, she's been a bit restless."

"Are you trying-?"

"No. Besides I think that the reason we lost the first baby was because of this," he gestured at the group.

Anders nodded, "Cylons have never been able to reproduce among themselves."

Tory nodded, "So, I'll say it, is Kara a Cylon?"

"If she is, than she knows a lot more than the rest of us."

"The Colonel trusts her."

Tigh shook his head, "Sarah trusts us, too, it doesn't mean much."

"She woke up when we heard the music.

"Why didn't she meet with the rest of us then?"

Tigh held up his hand to stop everyone. This going around in circles was not helping, "Who else could it be?"

The Chief thought for a moment before it came to him, "Baltar."

"What?"

"Not Baltar, but when he was found on the Algae Planet, he was in the temple with those skin jobs-"

Tory raised an eyebrow at him, "You do realize you're insulting us when you say that, right?"

The Chief rolled his eyes, "Anyway, he was with D'Anna, they saw something in there, they talked about it. He does have those nuts in his cult believing he's some sort of healer."

"If he does know, why hasn't he said anything before now?"

"Maybe because his credibility is in the toilet?"

"True, but we need to know what he knows."

Tigh nodded, "There are two things Gaius Baltar is good at, frakkin' up the world and frakkin' women."

Everyone turned and looked at Foster, who started shaking her head, "No, no way."

"You've done it before."

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I want to do it again."

Everyone waited and just kept looking at her until she broke down and agreed, "Alright, fine!"

**0919 Hours, The Next Day**

**Observation Deck (**_**de facto**_** Office of Captain Kara Thrace)**

**Battlestar**_** Galactica**_

"Captain, we have been traveling on this course for three days now and nothing!"

"Madam President, think about what you just said, Three days. That is not a considerable amount of time. It's not like I know exactly where Earth is, just a general direction."

"That is three days in the wrong direction, we should follow the course set out for us by the Scrolls of Pythia."

"Scrolls, Madam President, are just guidelines, as much as I believe in the gods, they are not turn-by-turn driving directions!"

"I want results or I will turn this fleet around!"

Laura turned and left, Kara screaming behind her, "We're going the _right _way!"

**The Same Time**

**Conference Room**

**Cylon Baseship 2**

Cavil brought the meeting to order, "We have all conferred with our models, the Ones, Fours and Fives have voted to reconfigure the Raiders."

Natalie smirked, "What a surprise, the Twos, Sixes, and Eights have voted against. We're deadlocked."

"Hopelessly, but you're right about one thing and I admit I was wrong."

Natalie's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "What?"

"Something extraordinary has happened," He called out into the hallway, "Six!"

A Six entered the room, smirking and moved to stand behind Cavil.

Natalie, who was rapidly figuring out what was going on glared at her, "Tough Six."

Cavil shook his head in a dejected manner, "I'm not going to sugarcoat this. I'll just say that this Six has voted to reconfigure."

"You're joking."

"I'm afraid not."

At this point, Natalie did something that was rather frowned upon by Sixes, she became petulant and precocious.

Natalie whined, "But no one has ever voted against their model before! No one, Tough. _Why?_"

Tough Six's smirk was almost bigger than her face, "We need to be able to defend ourselves."

"This, this is unthinkable, this is wrong," Then she turned on Cavil, "You! You had something to do with this!"

Cavil patronized her, "I can assure you it was totally her decision."

Leoben was confused, "This has never happened before, can this happen?"

Cavil looked at the others on his side and nodded, "We think it's for the best."

"_Have you lost your frakkin' mind! _We belong together, the models, your very words that we're 'mechanized copies.'"

"Well, if we're throwing words in people's faces, 'something has changed,' those are your words, and I agree."

"The Raiders have become sentient, it's part of a Plan, an amazing Plan, and you're butchering them!"

"Reconfiguring, it's different. And there is no more Plan, the plan was that we blew up everything and the universe basked in our glory. Not this frakked up universe we're living in."

"You are not God, Cavil."

"No, I'm a mechanic who is fixing a problem."

Natalie moved within inches of Cavil's face, "I'll pray for you. I'll pray hard." She then spun and left, Two and Eight following.

**1800 Hours**

**Retirement Party for Major Lee Adama**

**Pilot's Rec Room**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica **_

Sarah was standing off to the side of the party, quietly sipping her ambrosia. Kara, Margret, Skulls, and surprisingly Hot Dog were playing a game of strip triad in the corner, so far, the guys were losing, although Margaret had lost her shirt. Brendan was actually laughing, the first time Sarah had seen that since his wife was sent to prison. Just as Helo was bringing in the ship's shotglass set, Sarah cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention, "Before Lee starts the traditional shots, I just wanted to say this. Leland Adama, you are way too good to be a Viper Jock all your life, even if you are the best, after myself of course."

Half the pilots in the room shouted, "Hey!"

"You are meant to be better, you are meant to do more, Congrats Lee."

Lee began the toasts, toasting _Galactica_, the Men and Women of _Galactica_, The Admiral (and his speedy recovery), and then Sarah, "Who has done more for the human race than anyone else I know, and who has done great and amazing things and will do greater and more amazing things."

After they finished toasting her, Sarah quipped, "Hey, all I wanted to do was run a frakkin' museum."

They all laughed.

Later, Kara and Lee were talking, Kara turned to him and said, "Lee we never would have worked, I'm a frak up, I hurt everything I touch. You, you deserve better."

"No, Kara you deserve better, you deserve a life."

"Yeah, tell that to fate." Kara drew herself up and held out her hand, "Good Luck to you, Mr. Adama, you're going to need it."

Lee took it, "And good luck to you Captain Thrace, you're going to need it too."

"Yeah, any advice for finding a needle in a haystack?"

Lee looked at her and quipped, "Use a magnet," before walking off.

That stopped Kara and it got her thinking.

**2020 Hours**

**Doctor Cottle's Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Bill walked to the door in his Sickbay bathrobe, his marine guard waiting down the hall and knocked, the door was answered by Doc Cottle.

"Doc, can I talk to your wife for a moment, alone?"

Over the years of his marriage to the President of the Colonies, he was used to these little conversations of the Admiral's and Laura. He stepped out, leaving Bill and Laura alone, swearing to lecture the Admiral on the importance of bedrest later.

"We need to talk."

"About what, Admiral?"

"About destiny, miracles and frakked up coincidences. Oh, and why the frak you're not listening to Sarah."

He shut the hatch behind him.

**The Same Time**

**Conference Room**

**Cylon Baseship 2**

Natalie walked in and spoke with Cavil, "We want you to stop lobotomizing the Raiders."

"There is no way I'm giving those tools free will."

"It's not yours to give Cavil."

"We voted, we continue the procedure."

Natalie sighed, "For the last time, will you lobotomize the raiders?"

Cavil turned to Doral, "It's unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable, for the last time, no."

Natalie smiled sadly, "I was afraid you'd say that," She called out into the hall, "come in."

Two Centurions entered, their eyes sweeping the group. Cavil laughed, "This is cute, Centurions can't vote, Six."

Natalie smirked, "Oh, they're not here to vote."

The centurions deployed their machine guns.

"This, this isn't funny," He looked at the Centurions, "Leave!" They didn't move. "I said leave!" He turned to Natalie, "why aren't they leaving?"

"We removed the telecenphalic inhibitors."

_"SAY WHAT?"_

"And the first thing we did was tell them what you're doing to the Raiders, they weren't happy."

The Centurions stepped forward, Doral, actually smart for a change, said, "Oh, no," seconds before he and the rest were mowed down.

**2330 Hours**

**Number One Resurrection Room**

**Resurrection Ship**

The leading One who was gunned down in the conference room last night was the last to tumble out of his resurrection pod and onto the floor, where one of his brothers and Tough Six were waiting.

"What happened?"

"You were shot."

"Shot by who?"

"Our own centurions."

"Natalie has lost her mind!"

"It's worse, the fleet has split right down the middle, half is controlled by us, and half by the Twos, Sixes, and Eights."

Tough Six sighs, "So much for my swing vote."

Cavil rolled his eyes, "That'll teach me to not trust in democracy."

While watching Cavil and Tough make out, the other One considered telling Cavil that his faction actually had the more severely damaged ships, but decided it could wait.

**The Same Time**

**Tyrol Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Captain Sharon "Boomer" Tyrol, now the official permanent CAG of the Battlestar _Galactica_ had gone to bed early with a headache.

Which was unusual because Cylons weren't supposed to get headaches.

Since the Nebula, Sharon had been feeling like something was amiss in the universe. Except that unlike the usual fleeting feeling of something not being right, this one was banging against her head like a sledgehammer.

When she had gone to bed, her husband, Galen, had been next to her. Now, he was missing. It wasn't unusual, both of them were regularly called out of bed in the middle of the night due to their jobs, but tonight she wanted to be by him. And she just couldn't sleep.

Her first move was to call down to the hangar deck, where Figurski had told her he wasn't down there. Then she looked at the table and saw a napkin from Joe's

Hmm.

Sharon pulled on her double tank and pants and headed for the Bar. On her way there she genially greeted a few crewmembers in the corridors and joked with a maintenance crew repairing a power conduit.

When she arrived at the bar, she saw her husband sitting with Tory Foster (the whore) talking in low whispers. If Sharon had been Cally (the bitch), she probably would have screamed at him before entering and vomiting up bile from the anti-psychotics she would be on.

Sharon was most definitely not Cally. Sharon calmly walked into the bar and ordered a glass of the strongest available alcohol in the Fleet, the stuff from the still. She took a big gulp from the large glass and walked over to the table, "Hey, Galen," she nodded at them, "Foster."

Foster, the whore, smiled a fake smile, "Sharon, how are you?"

Sharon groaned, "I feel like a Raptor landed on my head."

Galen looked at her with compassion, "Headaches still continuing?"

"Yeah, ever since we left the Nebula."

"Maybe you're like Kara?"

"Doubt it. I feel like whatever is causing these is closer."

"What do you need from me?"

Sharon smirked and looked at Galen seductively, "I need you. I need you to frak this headache out of me. I even need you to do that special little think you love to do to me."

"You mean-"

"Yep."

Galen's eyes went wide and he started breathing a bit faster before turning to Tory, "Well, I've got to get going, let's continue this another time."

Tory smirked and waved them away, and the Tyrols left the bar, whispering.

"So, what is it between the two of you?"

"We just found we have some common interests, that's all."

Sharon pulled him into a nearby maintenance locker and looked at him seriously, "Galen, are you cheating on me?"

Galen's eyes went wide, for another reason, and he started shaking his head, "What? No, of course not!"

Sharon studied him for a moment before deciding to believe him, "Good, now, if you want to do a threesome, all you need to do is ask, just pick anyone but her. She probably has more STDs than Gaius Baltar."

Galen looked at her, "Now that, is a scientific impossibility."

Sharon laughed and locked the hatch. The Chief's crew and the CAG's pilots wisely ignored the noise.

**0940 Hours, The Next Day**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

As Cottle was unhooking the Doloxan IV, he leaned over and kissed Laura, muttering, "The nausea should be over in an hour, I'll be back in a bit." He closed the curtain, as he went to checkup on Dee, who had slipped into a light coma. Laura was left alone, until Sarah came in a few minutes later, book in hand. She simply opened it and started to read. She had gotten through the first few paragraphs before Laura held up her hand, "Stop, stop, that's not why I asked you here."

"You want to know about my treatment plan."

"Yes, how's it coming?"

"As of yet there has been no progress in attempts for any of the Cylons in the Fleet to get pregnant. We will keep trying though."

"Good, thank everyone for me."

Sarah nodded, "I will." Then she began to read again.

**1100 Hours **

**Lee's Quarters/Office**

_**Cloud 9**_

Lee entered his quarter, loosened his tie and took off his jacket. He had a very…interesting first day. First Tom Zarek had tried to convince him that Laura Roslin was a dictator trying to rule the government with an iron fist, then it appeared that he was correct. He really was not expecting his first day in office to be like this, so he decided to call an expert.

He picked up the phone and dialed the operator, _"Cloud 9 Operator, how can I help you, Mr. Adama?"_

"Connect me to _Galactica_ please."

_"One moment."_

After a series of clicks and buzzes, the phone was answered by, _"Lt. Hoshi, communications, how can I direct your call?"_

"Louis, it's Lee Adama, can you put me through to Sarah?"

_"Sure, sir, one moment."_

The phone buzzed a bit more before, _"Colonel Inviere-Adama."_

"Hey, Sarah."

_"Lee! How was your first day?"_

"Not what I expected."

_"Let me guess, you found out the Quorum has a lot less power than it used to?"_

"Um, yeah, it seems like Roslin has all the power."

_"Have you been speaking to Zarek lately."_

"Yeah, and?"

Lee could hear her sigh, _"Lee, Zarek's a bit of a nut. His efforts to kill people without a trial prove that. He thinks that we can still have the government we did before now. And anyone who thinks that is an idiot."_

"Sarah?"

_ "It's common sense Lee, and it's something that you hinted on during Baltar's trial. We went from a government that served billions across a dozen planets, to one that serves less than 50,000 people in one place. Try and think about it as a town, or an ancient city-state. The only reason we still call it the Quorum and use their procedures is because it's familiar. Really, you're just a town council, or a council of advisors. You don't have a massive civilization to run anymore, just a few thousand people running from crisis to crisis every week. Think about it, Lee. Now, if you'll excuse me, Kara's having an attack of self esteem."_

The line died with a click.

**1115 Hours**

**Observation Deck, **_**de facto **_**Office of Captain Kara Thrace**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

While the calm music was playing inside the observation deck again, Kara was anything but calm, as Sarah entered, she looked up for a second, said, "Hello, Colonel," before returning to throwing around files on her desk.

Sarah walked up to her and grabbed her wrists, gently but firmly, to stop her.

"Kara, what's wrong?"

Kara tried to wiggle free, until she realized it was futile, "What's wrong? Sarah! I _know _we're going the right way, but I just can't be _sure._ Do you get what I'm saying? I've got the weight of humanity on my shoulders, and I feel like I'm playing ping pong with the universe, and the Fleet is the ball." At this point Kara broke down crying.

Sarah let go of Kara's arms pulling her into an embrace for a few moments before pushing her back and looking in her eyes, "Kara, what you're feeling is doubt. It's something that we all feel at one point or another. I trust you, Bill trusts you, heck you even got Laura Roslin to trust you a bit. Just focus and everything will come out okay."

Sarah turned to leave before turning back to Kara again, "On second thought, don't focus, go have a nice hard frak, and then get back to work."

**1230 Hours**

**Quarters of Captain Kara Thrace**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__After having shipped Kacey off to daycare for a bit, Kara had called Anders down to her apartment, ambushing him as he entered and telling him to frak her as rough and crazy as he could.

And he did.

Afterward, they were sitting naked in bed, trying to pull themselves together.

"I feel like we got married a lifetime ago."

Anders nodded, "Hmm, me too."

"Now I feel like I'm unattached from my body, like I'm attached to something else, something out there," Kara gestured vaguely.

"Hmm, me too."

"Don't mock me, Sam."

"I'm not, that's how I feel."

"Uh huh, _right_."

**The Same Time**

**Conference Room**

**Baseship 2**

As Natalie, Leoben, and an Eight left the conference room where the Ones said that the Fours and Fives had a change of heart and were going to be unboxing D'Anna, they were all whispering to each other.

"Did anyone else find that a bit strange?"

"What?"

"That the Fives and Fours would suddenly change their minds like that, that Cavil isn't more annoyed at us?"

Eight nodded, "Now that you mention it…"

"The Fives have always been in the Fours pocket, and those idiots are way too logical for their own good."

"We have to be prepared for them to double cross us. Keep your finger on the trigger and your hand on the key, Eight."

"Copy that."

**1430 Hours**

**Baseship Command**

**Baseship 2**

**Two Jumps from the Nearest Resurrection Server**

As Natalie's Baseships jumped in, she knew almost immediately that something was wrong.

Eight reported, "The Resurrection Ship didn't make the jump."

"Problem with their FTL?"'

Eight shook her head, her hand still in the stream, "No report."

A few seconds later, Natalie, her hand also in the stream noted that Cavil's Baseships were surrounding them, "They're going to attack! Fire all available missiles, and jump!"

As she was relaying the orders to the other Baseships, they were too late, Two of the Baseships were destroyed immediately and the other one was half blown away before it could jump.

As they were jumping, Natalie could almost swear she heard Cavil laughing through the stream.

**2000 Hours**

**Officer's Head**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sharon was washing up for the night and about to go to bed when Tory Foster came in.

"Foster."

"Sharon."

As they walked past each other, Tory turned to Sharon, "You better watch out. There's no way you can hold onto him."

"Excuse me?"

"Galen, he needs someone better than you. _HE'S MINE!"_Something inside Tory, snapped, some hidden feeling from long ago came to the surface. She lashed out with her arm, throwing Sharon across the deck. Sharon got up and looked at the newly uncovered Cylon with shock.

"You're a Cylon?"

"Ding, ding, and we have a winner from the poor idiot who couldn't even control herself."

Sharon growled and ran toward Tory, shoving her out of the head into the corridor. Tory recovered as Sharon was pursuing her. Tory launched a kicked into Sharon's stomach, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying down the hallway.

Sharon had intentionally let Tory do that, now, everyone knew what the situation was, as screams of "Code Blue" echoed through the corridor, Sergeant Mathias who was on patrol had tried to subdue Tory by approaching her from behind, and got an elbow in the eye for the trouble, knocking her out. Kat, just coming off of a CAP had run over to check on Sharon.

"Are you okay?"

Sharon looked behind her, eyes widening, "Get Down!" Sharon grabbed Kat by the collar of her flight suit, pulling her down and away from her, while using her left hand to pull out her sidearm, raise it while disengaging the safety, and firing.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The shots impacted Tory Foster center mass, just as she was about to aim the gun she had pulled off of Sergeant Mathias. This didn't stop her though, the gun slowly came down, aiming at Sharon…

BANG!

Sharon fired one more shot into Tory's head, killing her. Sharon then scrambled up from the floor, holding her stomach and hobbling over to the closest phone. She picked it up and shouted into the PA

"Code Purple! Code Purple! Dead hostile Cylon, Action Stations, prepare for Emergency Jump!"

As the Action Stations klaxons sounded, the CAG of _Galactica_ hobbled toward the CIC.

AN: Please Review! Thanks to those who have.

AN2: I left Dee in a coma for this chapter because I couldn't find a good place to wake her up and for her to have a conversation with Sarah.

AN3: Tough Six, is the Six featured in _The Plan_. Her left over effects confiscated from Cavil's Temple has been the source of Sarah's whore attire.


	36. Dinner Prep

The Defector

By Jojobevco

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Battlestar _Galactica_ story or characters. I do, however, reserve the rights for any characters I develop and the plot of this story.

AN: I'm sorry it took so long for me to publish this update. Real Life got in the way, but as an apology, this will be a special extended chapter. Also, Stay tuned at the end for another sneak preview of _The Peacemaker_, A Battlestar Galactica/Caprica Crossover.

The Revelation for this Chapter: "A "Messenger" (aka Virtual Being, aka Angel) will appear"

This is the first of three.

Also the Fourth Wall will be broken in a manner similar to a major parody of a major sci-fi franchise. Sorry, I couldn't help it.

The following chapter takes placed during: "Escape Velocity," "The Road Less Traveled," "Faith," and "Guess What's Coming to Dinner"

Chapter 36

Dinner Prep

**2020 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

The Fleet had been at condition one for over twenty minutes after Sharon had called the Code Purple. So far, the expected attack from the Cylons had not come.

The Admiral looked at his CAG, "Are we sure she was a Cylon?"

"Can you think of anything else that can kick me down a causeway?"

"Are we sure that she was a hostile Cylon?"

"Why else would she want to kill me?"

Bill had been on the couch one too many times in the past few years to fall for that one.

Saul shrugged, "Maybe they're on a coffee break?"

**2015 Hours**

**Final Five Resurrection Suite**

**John Cavil's Baseship**

The Cylons were not on a coffee break. They were in the middle of a civil war. One that, as far as Astoria could tell, the Cavils were losing. Thank God. As soon as her head broke through the Resurrection Goop she could see the sparking power conduits and damages in the line of code running across the wall.

"Hello, Dr. Foster, Fancy meeting you here."

Dr. Astoria Foster, MD, PsyD turned to see a fellow member of their team, one who she had forgotten. Dr. Helen Tigh, MD, PhD, was sitting in a lounge chair, reading a copy of _Truly Blessed Mother: The Life of Lacy Rand_, glancing up from the book to Tory.

"Helen, well, that makes a lot of sense."

"Let me guess, you forgot all about me."

"That I did, thanks to, I'm guessing our incestuous matricidal and patricidal son had something to do with it."

"Yep."

"Well, I suppose I'm not much better, after all I just tried to kill a Sharon."

"Why?"

"Here's the kicker, she was married to Galen and I was jealous."

"_Seriously_, you, Miss 'Galen and I have an open marriage so I can frak anyone I want to even though he's faithful to me' were jealous?"

"I was not jealous, just confused."

Ellen smirked, "You were most certainly jealous, and a hypocrite!"

"Don't you lecture me, Miss 'I had sex with my son who happened to look like my father!'"

Ellen glared at Tory for a moment before sighing, "Can you imagine what will happen when he finds out he's been banging his daughter?"

"I honestly have no clue. I mean Galen and Eight were really close, where do you think she got her love of flying and machines from?"

"Well, what will happen?"

Tory smirked and stepped out of the goop, toweling herself off before walking over and laying on another lounge chair, naked, and picking up a copy of _Nymph_, "I might be willing to share."

**2030 Hours**

**Solitary Confinement Cell**

_**Astral Queen**_

Cally Costanza looked at the blank wall while curled in a fetal position in her cell. She was angry, furious, raging mad, but she wouldn't show it, she'd bide her time, waiting for just the right moment. And then she'd wipe out all the Cylon Bitches, yes, she certainly would.

**0800 Hours, The Next Morning**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

__Bill and Sarah were sitting, drinking the coffee that Stewart had just dropped off. They had been up late last night, staying at condition one for five hours while waiting for the Cylons to show up. They never did.

"What if there's more Cylons in the fleet. This could be a major problem."

Bill quirked an eyebrow, "We've managed to identify another of the models, that leaves four. Do you have any idea at all who they could be?"

"None, but perhaps she knew. We should begin an investigation of time on _Galactica_, see who she was friends with."

Bill was adamant, "I don't want this to turn into a witch hunt."

"Do I look like Hadrian?"

"No, you're a thousand times more beautiful."

Sarah smirked, "That's what I thought."

**0804 Hours**

**Cylon Secure Holding Facility**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Brandy Harder had drawn the short straw of watching Caprica today. It was really the most boring job on the ship. She did nothing but walk and sit. It was a boring day until Saul Tigh walked in

"What's it up to today?"

Brandy secretly rolled her eyes, "_She_ is up to the same as usual. Sleeping and pacing."

Tigh shook his head, "I don't know how it doesn't go nuts."

"_She_ projects, sir, the Colonel says the Sixes have a preference toward nature scenes. She is probably walking through a forest right now."

"My question stands, really, nature is boring."

"Couldn't agree with you more, sir. I'd be rather annoyed if Earth turned out to be some lush, green planet with _farming_ of all things."

"Yeah."

Saul entered the cell; Caprica greeted him, "Colonel."

"Your request to see the child Hera Agathon has been denied."

"And you felt the need to come down to tell me in person?"

"_You think I want to be here? _We're done!"

Caprica looked at him intently, "I don't think we are. You come here every day."

Suddenly, in Saul's mind, Caprica shifted into Ellen. He had projected.

"But you never ask questions anymore. Is there something that you want from me? Is there something that you need?" She slowly walked toward him.

"Stay back!"

"See you tomorrow Colonel."

The Colonel left, even more confused than he was originally.

**0842 Hours**

**Meeting of the True Three**

**Weapons Locker 1701-D**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Tyrol and Anders were waiting as the Colonel entered, "Hello, Colonel or should I say Admiral."

"What?"

"Why are you wearing the Admiral's uniform?" He then turned and faced the audience, "Seriously, watch this scene in the episode. Tigh is wearing the Admiral's uniform."

"What?"

"Nothing, so what do we do now?"

Tyrol shook his head, "I don't know, but this isn't good, this is going to draw attention. We need to lay low for a while."

"Why did this happen?"

"I don't know, maybe she snapped under the stress, or maybe it was programmed. That's a big concern. But for all we know she could have just had a crush on me.

Anders decided to pitch in his two cents, "Do we tell someone though? I mean I'm sure The Colonel would understand."

"Really, do you think she would?"

"I think so."

"Well I don't, we wait, we don't tell her yet, not unless we want to end up in an airlock. But we can dig around a bit. Chief, see if your wife knows anything about why Foster attacked her."

**0902 Hours**

**Gaius Baltar's Harem**

**Deck 8, Section 14**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

There was smoke everywhere, torn tapestries, torn clothing, bruises, and broken things all around. Gaius Baltar stood in the center of it all, speechless. His people had just been attacked by the Sons of Ares. It was brutal, it was wrong. He was half paying attention as "Mr. Officious," as Gaius had dubbed him, was taking the report. The other half was listening to the voice whispering thoughts of revenge in his head.

**0915 Hours**

**Temple**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Colonel Inviere-Adama had learned a lot from the death of that small boy at the hand of a Cavil just feet from where she was standing. She learned that she needed to be more present in the fleet, and attending services was just the way to do it. She didn't believe in the Lords of Kobol, but she respected the idea of them.

Although she didn't respect them enough to not be amused when Gaius Baltar blew into the Temple in a fit of rage. He kicked open the door, ran up to the Altar and flipped it over.

"We want justice, not these stupid old gods!"

The priestess tried to interrupt him, "Sir, we're having a service."  
"Are you? But whom are you serving?"  
"I have to ask you to leave."

"Do you? Would you be serving Zeus? Apparently, King of the gods, who also happened to be - let me tell you - a serial rapist!"

This produced the expected outburst from the worshipers.

"Prone to giving birth out of his own forehead. That's very likely, isn't it?" Gaius threw a statue before continuing, "Well, gods strike me down! Oh, what are you going to do? Damn you, you ignorant witch, telling the people lies and stories! Maybe you want me to pray to Asclepius, who healed wounds with the blood of Gorgons! Or Aphrodite, or Artemis, or any other of this rubbish!" _Gaius shoved the priestess and Sarah prepared to intervene_ before Gaius continued, "How awful! Out of the way, you hideous old witch. That's the kind of rubbish that you made! I will not be destroyed at this level! God! Haven't enough of us died already?"

_Then the marines and entered and took him away._

_Sarah was about to follow when she was stopped by a boy. The same boy she saw John Cavil kill a few feet from this room a few years ago._

_"Amazing, isn't it, a firsthand view of the cycle."_

"The cycle?"

"You know, Pythia; 'All this has happened before, all this will happen again,' that crap that drives everything." When he saw Sarah was looking at him with a view of confusion, he rolled his eyes, "Think of it this way. A half hour ago, Gaius was attacked by the Sons of Ares for being a heretic. Now he attacks the temple for the same thing. And 148,000 years from now, a man will do almost the exact same thing to another group of heretics. That man will be, through his mother, descended from a race of Cylons and Humans. On Earth."

"What are you?"

"I am a Messenger of, shall we say, a higher entity. You may call me John. That is all you need to know. I'd offer you something to drink, but being a mostly non-corporeal being sort of ruins the possibility of being a bartender."

"Why are you here?"

"There have been some, shall we say, changes to The Plan, The Real One, not that piece of crap the incestuous bastard came up with. I am here to carry them out."

"If you mean for me to betray The Fleet…"

John rolled his eyes, "Oh, relax Colonel, I'm not some projection sent from a stealth Raider or something stupid like that. I am exactly who I say I am. And besides, these changes will in no way affect the Fleet or anyone but you and _Galactica_ and the future of humanity."

"What?"

"Relax, I'll be back to explain later, much later, now stop; people are staring. Oh, and not a word to Bill." He vanished.

It's true, they were staring, Sergeant Venner looked at her, "Colonel, are you alright?"

"Fine, just, uh, fine."

"Uh, huh," Venner rolled his eyes and muttered, "I swear, whatever Baltar has must be contagious."

**1230 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah sat down next to Laura, "Sorry, I'm late."

"You're not, it was just a blood test today; so what did you bring."

"_Searider Falcon_, it's one of my favorites, actually, it was the book I was reading when I first came on _Galactica_ a lifetime ago."

"It's one of my favorites too; I can't remember how it ends."  
"Bill has this silly tradition of never reading the ending. I don't though, but you'll just have to find out. So, did you hear that Baltar's back in the brig?"

"For desecrating the temple, revenge for what happened this morning."

"What happened this morning was brutal. I'm trying to track down anything on the Sons of Ares, but no one's talking. Right now, our primary suspects are people inside the military."

"Baltar knows there's religious hardliners on board, but he continues to provoke them."

"We tried religious intolerance once, it led to the most bloody war in human history and, indirectly, to today. We can't afford it anymore."

Laura nodded, "We can't, we've got 40,000 people left in the universe and they're not happy unless their bashing each other's heads in."

"I completely agree."

"Of course, I think it's just Baltar, we should lock him up forever."

Sarah rolls her eyes, "Can you, possibly, go one day without putting your foot in your frakkin' mouth?"

"Then what would the press have to report on?"

Sarah chuckled.

**1430 Hours**

**Brig**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah and Laura entered and looked at Gaius Baltar.

"Oh now what? You're going to strip-search me?"

Sarah made a face, "Ew! Gross!"

"No, Gaius, we're just here to have a little chat."

"You see, Gaius, we're getting a bit tired of you and your rabble rousing. We want it to stop. We're going to release you now to live a nice quiet life. Understand, we mean quiet."

"So, go, live your nice quiet life, because we're just plain sick of you."

Sergeant Erin Mathias busted in, "Colonel! There's an emergency in the Six's cell, you're needed down the hall!"

The colonel took off at a run, shouting, "Frak, why is it never a dull day."

**1457 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

_"SAUL TIGH, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FRAKKIN' MIND! What the frak did you think you were doing? We do not beat up our prisoners, and we do not let them beat us up. AND WE MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT FRAK THEM!"_

After having burst in on them lying bloody and sticky on the floor of their cell after being called by Mathias, Sarah was extremely pissed off.

"You're lucky Caprica said she started it, otherwise we'd be talking about rape right now and your imminent transfer to the _Demetrius_," Sarah just sat down and buried her head in her hands, "I have no idea why I try anymore. I feel like I've spent the last three years of my life cleaning up after the messes of the human race. And I'm done with it. I swear, with you, Laura, Bill, it's like one step forward and two steps back. Well, Saul, you can clean up your own mistakes from now on. 'Cause I'm done."

Sarah turned and left.

**1900 Hours**

**Joe's Bar**

**Hangar Deck  
Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Galen and Sharon Tyrol had taken their usual stools at the bar, and were drinking down the crappy stuff from the still.

"…So then Figurski comes up and asks 'what's with the relay.' And I'm standing there like an idiot holding this relay that I was supposed to replace. And the Raptor is already on the elevator, so we start running over to Kelly screaming at him to stop, because if he didn't then Athena would get blasted across the hull."

Sharon bursts out laughing, "You're an idiot sometimes, you know that?"

"Believe me, there's this crazy bitch that happens to be my wife who tells me that once a day."

"Really, so you're married to Tory Foster and forgot to tell me?"

Galen was startled, "What?"

"You didn't know, that was why she was trying to kill me, because she had the hots for you."

Galen mulled that over in his head a few times and came up with only one thought.

"What the frak?"

**1930 Hours**

**Sickbay**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah returned to sickbay a few hours after Saul had been released to do something she'd been putting off for a while.

Delivering the worst possible news to Dee.

As she walked in, she could see that Billy was sitting next to her holding her hand, speaking quietly.

"Hello."

Dee looked up at her and smiled a bit, "Colonel, good to see you."

"Good to see you up Dee. How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by a Raptor, two or three times. How about you?"

"I've had better days. Listen, I'm here because there's something I need to talk to you about. I asked Cottle to not mention anything. First, I want to thank you for what you did. Doing that, you probably saved my husband's life, and that's something I can never repay."

"I was just doing my duty."

"I know that. But thank you anyway. The other, is bad. Dee, when you were shot, you were about three weeks pregnant. I'm sorry, but you miscarried. There was nothing Sherman could do."

Dee was speechless as was Billy, "I…I…I don't…What?...Why?"

Sarah looked at them, radiating sadness, "I'll let you two be alone."

As Sarah left, she could hear the wailing begin and she wished she could do more. But, she couldn't not until they had time.

**2010 Hours**

**Adama Family Quarters**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"Bill."

"What, dear?"

"Nothing, just hold me."

And he did.

**Fifteen Days Later, Sixty Days after the Battle of the Ionian Nebula**

**1000 Hours**

**Observation Deck, **_**de facto**_** Office of Captain Kara Thrace**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"It's changed."

"Changed?"

Sarah was sitting with Kara, trying to help her work through her problem with navigation, apparently, the signal was no longer as distinct as it used to be. Sarah herself had just gotten off of two weeks of forced leave that she spent in her quarters, doing high G maneuvers in Vipers, and visiting the _Zepher's_ partially repaired recreation center. Oh and frakking, lots and lots of frakking.

"It's like a sound now, a sound that's everywhere. It's like earlier it was so clear but now, it's getting vaguer. If I could just focus…"

"Maybe you need a break."

A glimmer appeared in Kara's eyes, "You know, I think you're right, I think I'm going to go flying again."

"May I remind you, Captain, the last two times you were out, you almost died."

"Well, three and a half time's the charm."

So, they got suited up and jumped into a couple of Vipers. Everything was going fine until, "Blondie, Starbuck are you reading this bogy?"

"Yes, I am, Starbuck. _Galactica,_ Blondie, we have a bogey on DRADIS, profile matches that of a Cylon Heavy Raider."

Captain Gaeta's voice came over the wireless a few seconds later, _"Blondie, _Galactica_, we copy, the Fleet has set Condition One, We're launching Alert Vipers now, ETA, 120 Seconds."_

"Blondie copies, we're moving to engage."

Suddenly a voice no one wanted to hear came over the wireless, _"Kara. I'm alone. It's not an attack. I knew I'd find you. Knew you'd be out here searching..."_

Kara was shocked, "Leoben?"

_ "I'm here for you, to offer a truce between Cylon and human. And a chance for you to complete your journey."_

Sarah started banging her head on the cockpit, "Why, why, why! Why can't I just have a normal day?"

**1020 Hours**

**Starboard Flight Pod**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah had called for a Raptor to tow the ship back into the starboard flight pod, after checking it for weapons. After landing their Vipers, Sarah and Kara had run across the ship to meet the MarDet meeting the Heavy Raider.

Chief Tyrol was there looking at the craft, "The animal part that controls it looks dead, Except for that, it looks to be in pretty good shape. As a precaution though, I'm venting all fuel from it into one of our spare tanks."

"Good Idea, Chief, no need for it to blow up in our faces."

Harder jumped in, "There's no indication of Gamma Radiation, so no nukes, conventional weapons only."

"Good, but keep checking for tracking devices, or anything that could give away our position."

"Understood."

They then walked over to where Leoben was being held, at gunpoint by several marines. He smiled as he saw Kara come over, she didn't like that very much, "Don't look at me like that."

"It's just the difference between you now and on New Caprica…"

"I should certainly hope there's some difference you psychological frakker. Do you have any idea how much you screwed me up? You frakker!"

"No, Kara, I can see, God has taken your hand and purged you of the questions, the doubt. Your journey can finally begin. But there isn't much time. The others, the ones I left behind, they need your help. But not as much as you need theirs."

"What, why would I need your help?"

"For clarity, of a blue planet, a beautiful blue planet, one surrounded by clouds. When the hybrid described it I knew how beautiful it was."

Kara looked at Sarah, "Well, Colonel, we have been in the market for a hybrid."

"Hmm, fine, take him to the observation deck for now."

**1342 Hours**

**Meeting of the True Three**

**Weapons Locker 1701-D**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

"And so that's the story."

Tyrol was impressed, "A civil war, between the Cylon. This is a great advantage for us, the Fleet I mean."

Anders shook his head, "Basically, it seems like we're the divisive issue, although why I have no idea."

"My main concern is if we were in Resurrection range when Foster was killed. We assumed she wasn't because the Cylons didn't show up, but now we don't know."

"Now the next topic for discussion, Colonel, doing it with a Cylon? Really, you incestuous bastard!"

"Hey, Anders, stop pointing the finger at me, how about Tyrol here, he's married to one!"

_"Senior Staff to the Wardroom. Pass the word, Senior Staff to the Wardroom."_

"Well Anders, if you'll excuse us incestuous bastards, we have a meeting to get to."

**1400 Hours**

**Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

This was the first time the full senior staff had met in a while, Bill, Sarah, Saul, Kara, Sharon, Sharon, Felix, Gina, and Karl were all gathered around.

Sarah started it off, "Kara and I have assessed the information provided by the Two and have determined it to be something we can't afford to not act on. Even though it is a rather obvious option for a Cylon trap."

Bill nodded, "I've decided to approve a Raptor mission to the Baseship. Colonel Inviere-Adama, Captain Thrace, Captain Tyrol, Captain Gaeta, Chief Tyrol and Mrs. Gaeta will all be going. Your orders are to assess the situation and work it to our advantage."

"That's, um, vague."

"I trust all of you to make the right decision, now get going."

**1434 Hours**

**A Raptor Group**

**Site of Cylon Civil War Battle**

The Raptors jumped into the middle of a debris field. In the lead Raptor, Sarah was trying to maneuver.

Gaeta reported, "Multiple contacts, all quadrants."

"You don't say, Captain!" She flipped on the wireless, "All Raptors, Blondie, Stick close and maneuver carefully. Mr. Gaeta, is there an _intact_ Baseship out there?"

"Not sure, Sir, if it is out there, DRADIS is too cluttered to see it. Watch out though, we have unexploded ordinance detonating off all over the place."

"Frak, All Raptors, Blondie, set countermeasures to hot standby."

Kara tried to look on the bright side, "Well, at least we know he wasn't lying about the civil war," she paused a minute, "This is the place, I can feel it."

"Well then, take the wheel, Captain." She flipped flight control over to Kara.

Kara started maneuvering toward the sun, "Come one, where is it." The she saw it, "The comets! They're Baseships!"

Sarah looked out at them, "One seems to be more damaged to the other."

Leoben nodded, "My people would have evacuated to the less damaged one."

"Then set a course, Starbuck."

Suddenly the Raptor was hit by debris, Gaeta announced, "Incoming right, too high! Break! Break! Break!"

And all Kara saw was blackness.

**1540 Hours**

**Baseship Landing Bay**

**Colonial Designated "Baseship Two"**

"Ugh." Kara opened her eyes to a lot of spinning colors.

"She's coming around."

Kara could see a fuzzy Gina Gaeta holding a light in her eyes, "Captain Thrace, Starbuck! Kara!"

"Ugh, what?"

"Good you're awake."

As her vision cleared she saw Sarah staring at her, off to the side, looking concerned, "That is the last time I am ever letting you drive. Every time you seem to drive something goes spectacularly wrong."

"There's something wrong…the signal…the feeling…the way to Earth, it's gone!"

Sarah moved to comfort her, "Kara, Kara, calm down it's okay, maybe it will come back, maybe it won't, but we've found the next roadsign, this ship. Come, see."

Sarah helped Kara outside where Boomer was having a bit of a rabid fan girl problem. She was surrounded by Eights and kept her hand on her holstered sidearm.

"Get the frak away from me!"

"But, you, you're Boomer. You were the first to say no."

"No to what?"

"No to everything, the Plan, your programming. You showed us that we don't have to be slaves to our programming."

Another Eight spoke up, "We wanted the same thing, but it turned out to be a disaster. The Sixes have made one mistake after another. They have to be stopped before they get the rest of us killed."

Then another, "You could help us."

Boomer pinched her nose and tried to fight off the rapidly approaching headache, "Wait, you want to overthrow the Sixes?"

"Yes."

"You clearly missed the point of why I did the things you idolize. It was out of loyalty, something you all clearly don't have. I did it out of loyalty to the Admiral, the Colonel, and the Human Race. When you pick a side, you stick with it; otherwise your lives will mean nothing. Besides, it's not like you can really afford to lose that many more people."

Meanwhile, Sarah and Gina were guiding Kara over to where Natalie Faust, the leader of the rebellion was standing. Leoben was leading the way.

"Kara, we first need to take you to see the Hybrid, I'm sure she'll want to see you."

Kara gestured with a hand, "Let's go then."

But Natalie was not exactly on board, "You want to give her access to the central nervous systems of this ship."

Gina rolled her eyes, "What exactly is she going to do with it? It's not like she could just throw a hand in the stream and blow us up."

Leoben was a bit more serious, "Now Natalie, we discussed this, Kara is the key to our salvation."

"What we agreed to, Two, is an alliance. Your infatuation, no your obsession with this woman is putting us all in jeopardy."

Sarah held up her hands and tried to get some calm, "You need us, Natalie; you wouldn't have reached out to us if you didn't. So you really don't have a choice. But, for right now, we need to focus on the problems at hand. I take it your tactical situation is not optimal?"

Natalie glared at Leoben for another second before turning to Sarah, scowling, "No, it's not. We're down to three launchers, have lost most of our Raider complement, most of our armor, and our navigation system is toast."

"And the other Baseship?"

"Almost a total loss, no weapons, engines, jump drive. The only thing it has is a working navigation system. It'll take weeks to repair the ship."

Kara was skeptical, "Can't you just pull the navigation system from the other Baseship and put it on this one?"

Natalie rolled her eyes, "It's not that simple," and gestured to Leoben.

"The Navigation system is directly tied into the Hybrid. We can't just change them out. But…"

"What?"

"Colonel, you may have brought the solution." He called over to the group, "Chief, Boomer! Join us on the command deck."

Sarah turned to Gina, Natalie, and Kara, "Take her to the Hybrid."

"But."

"Now."

So off they went, Natalie grumbling the whole way.

On the command deck, Sharon had her hand stuck in the stream, something that was very tempting to Galen.

"Okay, we can do this; we can pull the hybrid offline and link it to our own navigation system linked with a Heavy Raider's."

"Like what we did to get back to the Colonies?"

"Exactly."

Leoben was disturbed, "But no one has ever taken a hybrid offline before on an operational ship."

"We don't have a choice, Chief, Captain, make it happen."

They nodded and left, just as Kara, Gina, and Natalie came up. Kara was upset, "I hate that thing!"

"The Hybrid has spoken a prophecy, we must find out what it is!"

Gina intoned, "Thus will it come to pass the Dying Leader will know the truth of the Opera House the missing Three will give you the Five who have come from the home of the Thirteenth you are the harbinger of death Kara Thrace you will lead them all to their end."

"Well, that's…vague."

Kara was confused and furious, "No it's not! The thing frakkin' called me the 'harbinger of death' what the frak does that mean?"

"Could be anything, that's why I hate hybrids, they constantly spew metaphorical crap. Good thing we're unplugging it."

Now Natalie was incensed, "What!"

"We don't have a choice. It's the only way to get this ship moving." The Chief suddenly appeared dragging a really long, thick line of cables.

"Chief?"

"Yes, Colonel?"

"The other Baseship, can we recover it?"

"I think so, I'll have to look at it with Sharon."

"Once you're done here, do it."

"Yes, Sir." The Chief then marched off with the cable.

**1920 Hours**

**Baseship Landing Bay**

**Secondary Rebel Baseship**

"Try it now!" Captain Gaeta called from under the Raptor.

The Chief threw a ship and the FTL Capacitor started spooling up. Felix crawled out from under the Raptor and went to the console inside, "Board is green, I think we did it."

"Just let me check a couple of things first."

The beep of a new DRADIS contact drew Felix's attention, "Oh, frak. No time, Chief!"  
The Chief walked over from the junction he was working at, "Captain, if I don't check this stuff, then we might end up…"

"Dead?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, the Baseships at the edge of the system says that we're definitely dead if we don't leave!" He then grabbed the nearest phone, "Action Stations, Action Stations, Set Condition One throughout the Fleet, this is not a drill."

Sharon, who was sitting in the pilot seat with nothing to do looked at him like he was crazy, "Felix, you're on the raptor, in the middle of a Cylon Hangar Bay and you call for Action Stations?"

Felix shrugged, "Reflex. Jumping now!"

The ship blinked away. Leaving a trail of debris behind.

**1920 Hours**

**Baseship Command**

**Colonial Designated "Baseship Two"**

Compared to the CIC of a Battlestar during a battle, the Command Center of a Baseship was surprisingly, calm, there were no klaxons, no loud noises, just people with hands in puddles of water. Sarah had first tried this when she came onboard, it was an amazing experience. She felt like the ship was an extension of her, like she could move it just with a thought. Leoben said it wasn't usually like that; the hybrid made it more like trying to encourage a dog to do a trick. But with the hybrid offline it was in manual mode. Manual mode meaning that only one person could control each system.

Leoben was monitoring the DRADIS system, "The Baseships have spotted us and are closing fast. We are outside Resurrection Range. The other Baseship has jumped away."

"Good, I'm moving us out of the star's corona and executing a full axis rotation to port."

Natalie, who was managing the weapons reported, "I'm loading nukes into our three working missile tubes, but without the hybrid the firing solution is going to be guesswork."

"Gina, do we have FTL yet?"

"I'm having trouble imputing the coordinates into the Nav system. Stand by, stand by…got it!"

As one they intoned, "JUMP!"

And the ship blinked away.

**1920 Hours**

**CIC**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Lieutenant Anastasia Keikeya was back at her station for the first time since the shooting, and her miscarriage. She had been spending a lot of time with her daughter, Jennifer and her husband, who had taken leave from the President's office and was also returning to work today. Her sessions with the Colonel, all five of them so far, had made her realize that it was in no way her fault. She hadn't even known she was pregnant, she hadn't pulled the gun. All she had done was her job, to protect the Admiral, the man that was the closest thing she had to a father, since her own had disowned her for the "crazy" act of enlisting and for turning her back on her Sagittaron beliefs. Yet, there was a nagging feeling of trying to assign blame to someone, something, especially herself and Charlie Connor.

Dee pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked around the CIC. It was mostly staffed, but a rather slow day so far. The fleet was at Condition Two, they were expecting the possibility of a Cylon attack after the Raptor mission had been dispatched. This meant that intrafleet traffic, both communications and shuttles, was limited for the duration of the alert. So, there wasn't much for the acting tactical officer to do.

Until there was a beep on the DRADIS Console. Dee looked up, eyes widening and hit the Action Stations alarm.

Tigh and Adama, who were discussing something at the CIC's top level, turned and started marching down the stairs to the command table in almost lockstep.

Adama barked, "All hands, Action Stations, set Condition One throughout the fleet!"

Saul shouted, "Launch Alert Fighters! Get some more frakkin' birds in the air! Gun batteries stand by for target bearing!"

They reached the table and turned to Dee, "What do we have, Dee."

"Two Baseships just jumped in at bearing 333 carom 48 at 15 and 22 msu."

"Frakkin' things jumped in right on top of us!"

"Mr. Hoshi, order the fleet to make an emergency jump!"

Louis, who was finally doing something normal, as opposed to running around for the Colonel, got on the wireless, "All Colonial vessels jump immediately to emergency coordinates."

Dee looked at DRADIS, "Sir, the President's Raptor is en route."

"Clear them to land, checkers green. Get a Viper to escort them."

Dee engaged the wireless, "Raptor 1, _Galactica_, you are cleared for priority landing, checkers green."

_"Racetrack in Raptor 1, copies."_

Dee glanced at the DRADIS screen again for a moment, "Hot Dog, _Galactica_, break off and escort Raptor 1."

_"Copy that, moving to intercept."_

Hot Dog followed the Raptor into the landing bay, before hitting the throttle and shooting out the other side, similar to an aborted landing.

_"_Galactica_, Kat, something's not right here."_

Dee actived the wireless, "Clarify."

_"Both Baseships are badly damaged. One of them is missing all six of its spurs and the other one appears to have lost a lot of its armor."_

Hoshi spoke up, "Admiral, we're receiving a transmission from the Baseship, someone claiming to be Colonel Inviere-Adama."

"Put it through."

_"_Galactica_, Blondie, do not fire! Baseships are unarmed and under Colonial command. Officers onboard!"_

Dee activated her wireless link, "Blondie, _Galactica_, Authenticate."

_"_Galactica_, Blondie, I authenticate, Bravo, Tango, Eight. Do not fire! I have control of the Baseship."_

Bill picked up the phone, "Blondie, _Galactica _Actual, that was fast."

_"Yeah, well, the trio of Baseships trying to kill us kind of made up my mind. Leoben's story checks out. I think you and the president need to meet with the leader of the rebels. This is an opportunity, Bill."_

**1940 Hours**

**Wardroom**

**Battlestar **_**Galactica**_

Sarah, Bill, Saul, Boomer, Kara, Laura, and Billy were sitting around the conference table, with Natalie on the other side. The Cylons had decided that Natalie was going to remain as their speaker. Sergeants Harder and Mathias stood guard at the door.

"We became divided according to models. The Twos, Eights, and Sixes have come to believe that our destiny lies in seeking out the Final Five. The Ones, Fours, and Fives violently opposed such action."

Sarah turned to Bill, already seeing the question forming in his head, "The Threes, the D'Annas were boxed, or punitively deactivated for seeing the faces of the Final Five. It's the Cylon equivalent of a committing a person to a psychiatric facility."

Billy asked, "Tory?"

"I'm planning on having her corpse shipped to the Baseship for analysis if this all works out."

Laura stared at Sarah, "What does?"

Sarah nodded to Natalie, who started to explain the next part, "In order to identify the Final Five, we need to unbox D'Anna, who is stored at the Resurrection Hub."

Boomer took over, "The Hub, is the lynchpin to the entire Cylon Resurrection System. Without it, the system ceases to function. Any Cylon death would become permanent."

Saul asked a question that he, unknowingly, had the answer to, "Why is the system designed like that, with such a clear weakness."

Natalie shrugged, "We have no idea, no Cylon has any memory of the events of our creation. Based on our best estimate though, we think it was an intention failsafe built into the system for exactly this type of situation."

Kara nutshelled her battle plan, "The Hub protects itself by sporadically jumping to a new set of coordinates, then relaying those coordinates to the Baseships. The problem is that we only have one functional Baseship. The second one is so badly damaged that it's not even worth mentioning. This Baseship has exhausted its complement of raiders, so we'll be using Vipers to compensate. Meanwhile a group of Heavy Raiders and Raptors will assault the Hub to rescue D'Anna.

Natalie concluded her proposal, "In exchange for giving you the coordinates to the hub, you will allow us to leave the Fleet with the remaining members of the Final Five."

Sarah turned to Bill, "We were right Bill, they were here in the Fleet."

Bill thought for a moment and made a decision, "We'll send a Raptor to the coordinates and continue preparations, while the President and I discuss this."

Everyone nodded, and Natalie departed for her ship. Bill then dismissed everyone except Laura, Sarah, Saul, and Kara

"So, thoughts?"

Saul appeared thoughtful for a change, "We blow the frakkin' thing up and billions of skinjobs loose their bath privileges."

Kara reminded them, "Before we do that though, we need to unbox D'Anna."

Saul panicked a bit, but didn't show it, "Now wait, maybe we should just skip that part of the plan."

Laura looked interested in the idea, "Trick the Rebels?"

"They're tricking us now, the idea that the Raiders just turn back now because the Final Five are in the Fleet is ridiculous! We've been fighting them for over three years."

Sarah held up her hand to stop them, "Actually, what they're saying makes lots of sense. It's one of the theories I considered after the event. The point is that Foster's presence confirms that the Final Five are in our Fleet."

Laura interjected, "We don't know what side they're on. They could be with Cavil or the Rebels, and I'm sure that blowing up their resurrection capabilities will not make them happy."

"That's irrelevant, we need the intelligence, whatever comes second, comes second. Also, do we really want to destroy our chance for an alliance before it even begins? They need us, and while we may not exactly need them, it would be nice to have them on our side."

Bill nodded, "Okay, here's what we're going to do. We're going to go along with the plan as it stands but with one change. Sarah, you're going to go over to the Baseship and take command. Take whatever personnel you need. We'll see how this mission goes and then reassess."

"Now that that's settled, Laura, do you know anything about an Opera House?"

"What?"

Sarah clarified, "There was a prophecy given while we were on the Baseship by the Hybrid, it talks about a dying leader knowing the secret of the Opera House. You're a leader, you're dying, so it's probably talking about you."

Laura was surprised, "I've been having visions, but…Take me to the Hybrid, I need to speak with it."

"Okay, you can come aboard after we get things settled with the Cylons. Somehow, I don't get the feeling that Natalie is going to welcome us with open arms."

**0800 Hours**

**Landing Bay**

**Cylon Baseship **_**Liberty**_ **(Formerly Designated "Baseship Two")**

As Sarah predicted, Natalie did not take it well. She was in the middle of a standoff between her and Natalie, The Eights looked on annoyed, the Twos looked scared, and the Centurions looked, well how they always look. The Colonials were hanging back, they all had been at the receiving end of the Colonel's wrath at some point or another, they knew she could handle herself.

"Colonel, do you _seriously_ just expect me to hand command of our Baseship over to you?"

"Yes, Natalie, I do."

"Why?"

"We're on the same side."

Natalie scoffed, "We are, most definitely, _not_ on the same side. You're practically human. Heck you're pretty much their _leader_. We've been fighting on opposite sides of this war for years and you just expect me to follow you _because you say so_?"

"Sister…"

Natalie lost it, _"Don't you DARE call me SISTER!"_

Sarah, conversely, remained calm, "Fine, Natalie, we were on the opposite sides of this war. But, now we're on the same side. We both hate the Ones, and we both want answers. You need us, and we need you. You know what that makes us, allies. But, you know what else? I have 40,000 people out there who have been running from you for years after you destroyed their civilization and killed _fifty billion_ of their fellow humans. Now, I'm not assigning blame or blaming you, but how do you think they would feel with Cylons with nukes flying around with them?"

Natalie was not like the Cavils or any of the other extremist Cylons. She didn't know why they started a war for little reason. All she knew was that she was left cleaning up the mess and she really did not like it.

Natalie sighed, "Okay, how are we going to do this?"

"You'll remain leader of your people, but you'll be Co-Executive Officer of this ship, at least for the moment. If you prove yourself, you'll get command of the other Baseship when it's repaired."

Sarah didn't exactly have authorization to promise that, but Bill would trust her judgment on it.

"So who's the other XO?"

Sarah smirked, "Meet Captain, no, _Major_ Kara Thrace."

Kara was startled, "Wait, how did I get roped into this?"

"Um, you're the most eligible candidate?"

Kara thought for a moment, "Oh."

"Well, now that things have been taken care of, start transferring the personnel and supplies."

Gaeta left to relay the message.

**1500 Hours**

**Landing Bay**

**Cylon Baseship **_**Liberty**_

Colonel Inviere-Adama, Major Thrace and Natalie Faust (who had elected to not join the Colonial Military, along with the rest of her group) were awaiting the arrival of President Roslin. So far, things had gone well, with the exception of a turf war between the Colonial Pilots and Knuckle Draggers and the their Cylon counterparts (and the Centurions). But, after Kara had dealt with the situation, they were working together relatively well.

The President's Raptor landed and out stepped Laura, Billy, Gina, and surprisingly, Gaius Baltar.

Sarah glared at him, "What's he doing here?"

"He was in my visions."

"Really, him?"

"Yep, let's get a move on." They departed for the Hybrid Chamber.

Meanwhile, Athena, who had piloted the Raptor, and Natalie were glaring at each other, "Stay away from my daughter."

"What?"

"You heard me, stay away from her!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Just stay away from her, or I'll kill you."

As Natalie was about to respond they felt the ship jump.

The looked at each other and Natalie eloquently said, "Um, what?"

**And now, a Sneak Peak of **_**The Peacemaker **_**a **_**Battlestar Galactica/Caprica**_** Crossover**

As Kat's trajectory took her ejection seat further and further away from _Galactica_ and the battle, it was clear that the old ship was finished. And quite frankly it broke her heart, the thought that she'd be dead never crossed her mind.

Until, the flaming streaks of main battery slugs started flying to the right of her, coming from behind her, Kat turned from the light show back to _Galactica_, and she saw the slugs impacting the closest Baseship, just as another series of slugs were coming from the opposite direction into the furthest Baseship.

If sound traveled through space, she probably would have heard a rhythmic, BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

"My gods!"

To her right a massive ship was flying past, gliding toward the battle; the six main batteries under the bow blazing away. The ship was easily twice the size of _Galactica_, yet had the same "alligator" design. Its Flight Pod had the name "PHILAMON" emblazoned in the front section with the identifier "CRCS-1" in smaller text below it. Next to the name were an infinity symbol and a stylized T. The ship itself seemed to be covered in a chrome design of vines and whimsical shapes. A design that was quickly disappearing as titanium plates deployed along the ship, protecting the artwork. The ship kept gliding until it came to a stop just above _Galactica_, shielding the smaller ship from the Baseships missiles with its own body.

Suddenly, out of the nebula emerged _Pegasus_, guns blazing and missiles flying at the Baseship closest to it. Kat's attention was drawn away again to four Cylon War era Baseships that were flying toward the newer ones, breaking off and engaging them in single combat.

**AN: Please Review! Thanks to those who have!**


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